Out of Sight,Still In Mind
by CMemlovr
Summary: A female killer is loose in Virginia after escaping custody, she also appears to have an unusual interest in Dr. Spencer Reid. However, she may soon be revealed as someone familiar to the BAU family.
1. Chapter 1

**Reid's POV:**

It's quite dark tonight, and you've never really been fond of the inherent absence of light. Tonight, is no exception. You feel quite lonely, quite frightened and vulnerable, but something is stopping you from picking up the phone and giving yourself that company you've been craving. Call it a sixth sense if you will, but _something_ is telling you not to turn and pick up the phone. 'Be quiet' you gently chide yourself, feeling the ominous presence of the darkness, with the awareness that you are truly alone. You turn for a fraction of a second to pick up the phone from the nightstand. That fraction of a second was all it took. As you turned around once more, your fingers already busy dialing a familiar tone you find a gun in your face. Aimed point blank in a shoot-to-kill way at your forehead. You know this isn't going to end well.

**A Few hours previously:**

"Bye Guys!" you say as you wave yourself out of the bullpen of the BAU and into the lifts. You can't exactly say that your job is _fun_ but heck; the satisfaction of putting another criminal behind bars is too much to resist. So much passion goes into the work, so much time and effort, and though at times it seems that you have no impact on the increasing crime rate, it feels good to be putting even the slightest dent in their numbers. As you walk away from the building and into your car you decide that maybe you should stop by somewhere and get something to eat. It's been a while since you ate, and you're feeling a little woozy, a quick snack stop is in order. Perhaps not dairy though.

As you pick up your snack from the fast food counter and gently steer your way to your car, narrowly avoiding a toddler and his mother, you manage to steal a few fries and pop them in before hitting the road once more on the way to your apartment. As you're driving the details of the last grisly case smacks you before you can close the walls in your mind to stomach the gory details. The case was disastrous, probably one of the worst you've ever had to deal with, and worse still, you had to go undercover to lure the killer. Yes, surprisingly, you. And if that wasn't enough, you'd had to face all of those dead faces in the morgue and in the killer's own personal viewing gallery, looking for a positive ID on all of them.

The killer was Caucasian female, black hair with killer blue eyes, and a charm that could hook any man, or at least, that was the plan. As the BAU could sense that they were Zeroing in on the killer they sent you into the field to act as her next victim, calling in for back up before she could get herself all the way in. That had been the plan anyway. Unfortunately, things went wrong, as they quite often do, and you ended up in the clutches of a prolific female killer. The deplorable woman had finally been caught with your help; however, despite the fact that she's a serial killer, something tells you there's more to this woman than what is in the profile. What you don't realize is that while you're pondering this, she's already found out how to undo her handcuffs while you're in the car driving to HQ. The case was local, and as always you always fear it more when it's closer to home. Alarm bells should have been ringing when she let you fasten her cuffs to the table of the interrogation room, something wasn't right, but your mind was too caught up in the riddle that was her personality. You couldn't quite put your finger on it, but something, something, just wasn't right about her.

You return home exhausted yet satisfied with your greasy little snack. As you move to turn on the hallway light something grabs your attention instead. Deciding that it was just a shadow you quickly turn and attempt to turn on the hallway lights, which for some reason refused to turn on. Silently cursing yourself for leaving your work torch at work, you stumble and begin to search for your flashlight. 'Damn' you think, as your hands fumble through drawers with no luck. 'Well' you think, resigned, 'guess I'm going to have to check if the circuit's tripped'. You stumble your way out of your dark apartment, realizing that the circuit from the mains can't have tripped if the rest of your building's electricity is working. Not wanting to seem childish you turn back to your apartment and face the door you'd left ajar. You step inside and scold yourself for being so paranoid. A shirt has fallen to the floor from where you left it this morning, so you stoop down, pick it up and hang it once more. Then you calmly walk over to the sofa, thinking to yourself that the damn electrical company will never get it right, and thanking god that you'd had the presence of mind to charge your mobile this morning. At last, you settle in for a dark night alone.

**_Please R&R :) This is also my VERY FIRST Fanfic, so any comments or criticism would be greatly appreciated. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter, and please tell me if you would like the story to continue. _**


	2. Chapter 2

**Reid's POV:**

You're startled awake and realize that you'd dosed off. You reach for the light switch, hoping that your lights have been returned to you… alas no. That damn electric company was always getting it wrong. Oh well, it's not too bad, you decide. You reach for your mobile phone to call the electrical company. If only you could remember where you'd left it. You walk around aimlessly for a while before thinking that you may have left it on the night stand in the hallway. You meander over and pick it up, your fingers begin to dial a familiar number already.

**Present:**

A gun is pointed to your face, and you barely breathe so as not to startle your captor. You look up to identify the gun holder, but their face is obscured by shadows. You try to act calm and tell yourself that your team can find you…if you can just finish dialing JJ's number…just one more digit and you'd have reached JJ. You press the number and the call button, silently thanking god that your captor is unobservant. 'Thank god for JJ' you think, as she picks up on the first ring, but can tell that she must be silent by the way that you haven't greeted her yet. The phone is on loudspeaker and she realizes that she's been called to listen. Your captor hasn't realized that you're on the phone with someone who could possibly aid your situation. "Dr. Spencer Reid" Said a female voice menacingly, "did you think I'd let you get away from me? Surely you'd know me better…more intimately?" crooned the voice. She sounded familiar, yet you have to struggle to remember her, even with your memory. She continues to taunt you, and you're stuck, trying to figure out just who this gun wielding maniac is. Suddenly, something about the voice clicks in your head. It's her. The murderer from your latest case, your face must show recognition as she taps your head mockingly with the gun. You're paralyzed with fear, and can't bring yourself to do anything but watch as she slowly clicks off the safety.

JJ's POV:

You pick up the phone with a smile, anticipating conversation with your favourite genius. You wait for his customary greeting of "Hey Jayj!" but it never comes. What's more, you can tell you're on loudspeaker, something that Reid absolutely hates when having a private conversation. You stay silent and listen to what unfolds.

A woman is talking to Reid, a voice that should be familiar but…something is stopping you from recognizing her. You listen as she antagonizes Reid, mocking his deductive skills, your genius, being mocked. You hear a gasp come from Reid, and realize that he's probably just figured out who his captor is. You think back over the words she used to taunt him… "More intimately…" something about the intimacy strikes a chord, and you remember the voice easily. It's her. The wretched woman that hurt Spence and who killed all of those people. It's her. You wait in silence, seething at her ability to track down Spencer so easily, and quickly grab your mobile phone, and begin tapping out SOS messages to everybody on the team. You make quick work of multitasking, and all the while you're looking for a sign that Reid is in immediate danger. You hope that the team has seen the message and that they are on the way to Spencer's right now.

It's been a while, and suddenly you hear a resonating click come from the phone. It sounds almost like…the safety of a gun being clicked off. Your breath is coming in short gasps as you silently pray that the team arrives on time. No such luck. You hear Reid say goodbye softly and hang up the phone.

**Emily's POV:**

Your phone beeps a few times and you reach down and tug it out of your pocket. Ah, you think, it's from JJ. You've been waiting for the blonde agent to call or text so you can meet up for a ladies' night. You push open the flap of your flip phone and stare dumbly at the text written.

"Spence in danger gather rest of team and meet at Spence's house – JJ"

Reid couldn't be in danger, there was just something illogical about him being in danger, it was like an effeminate Morgan, or a joker Hotch. It was impossible. You awaken from your shock and hurry to Reid's house to head up with the rest of the team, hoping that you're not too late.

_**Hello again : ) thanks for reading my second chapter : D. Also, thank you to "silvermist1116" for reviewing last week's chapter : D **_


	3. Chapter 3

**Reid's POV:**

You've just hung up on JJ, not wanting her to hear anything that would upset her more than what she's already heard. You assume since the gun hasn't been fired yet, she intends on drawing this out a little longer. Oh joy. She licks her lips, now in full view, and stares at you point blank. You remember having a conversation with Garcia once about asserting alpha male behaviour, and not blinking in the face of a challenge, you also remember commenting that you wouldn't exhibit that behaviour being a "blinker". It seemed so funny at the time, but now you know you must show her defiance since she preys on only those who show weakness. You know that you have to act like an alpha male, even if in truth you'd rather be the trusted back-up, the man behind the scenes that helps the rest take out the criminals. Your team all have attributes that make them great for the job, perhaps even some that you lack, such as – even you admit it – _brawn_.

You continue to stare defiantly into the ice-blue eyes that bear into your core. God, she hates you. More than anyone else on your team, she hates you because you tricked her out of a victim. A very prestigious victim too, an agent of the FBI's very own BAU...you. When you posed as her victim, you knew what you were getting into, oh heavens you did. Did you think that she would escape? No. Did you think that she would seek revenge? Yes, but you didn't think she's be able to escape and act on that emotion! She shifts her gaze briefly, long enough for you to blink and allow your eyes some relief from the tension of staring her down. You're barely breathing now, trying to assess her movements and anticipate what she might do. Then again, with a killer like her, you never can know exactly what she'll do – but you can have a pretty good estimate. Since she's looked away, you can safely assume that she feels as though she is losing dominance in your little game, this could either result in further aggressive action, or it could result in her taking defensive action by using you as a way out. A bartering chip if you will.

Now that you've reached this conclusion, you realise that she's probably going to go on the defensive, not feeling strong enough to go on the offensive instead. As you finalize your conclusion you feel her shift uncomfortably before stepping ever so slowly behind you and binding your wrists with your very own tie which, you had discarded carelessly upon arriving at your apartment. Nice and tight, your tie is wound round and round your wrists. A harsh burn envelopes your conscious thoughts, and for a while it occupies you. Once you're done assessing the damage, you look up and find her dangerous eyes peeping into yours, almost... innocently. A ploy clearly, for a few minutes late she's busying herself for your departure, to where is unknown at the moment. At least, to you, anyway. Clearly, her previous favourite hideaways will be the first to be suspected, so it has to be somewhere unexpected, somewhere the team will have to take time and think about. Hopefully, from her point of view, enough time for her to decide what exactly is to be done with you.

**Killer's POV:**

Look at him, trying to stare _you_ down. Pathetic. You hold your gun to his forehead, enjoying the sensation of power flooding through your veins. It feels good, better than you had anticipated. Unlike all your other kills, this was personal, which apparently, makes it all the sweeter. What would they call this type of kill...passionate? You like the sound of that. Maybe you can kill more like you will Dr. Spencer here, take your anger out on...a surrogate? Yes, that's what they called your last victims, "surrogates".

You shift your gaze from his momentarily, thinking about your next move. You've been planning this moment from the time of your arrest, you want it to go perfectly, not draw out the kill too much, but draw it out enough that you enjoy it. Immensely. You can see that he's taken this opportunity to profile you, perfect, just perfect. You decide that your best move would probably be to bind him down and make sure that his hands are securely fastened behind his back. You shuffle behind him and pick up a tie from the floor, your bind it around his wrists as harshly as you can manage, to imitate the awful handcuffs he put you in this morning. You feel him flinch beneath your hands and relish in his discomfort. You look down in a cursory sweep and see a phone hastily dropped onto the floor. Ah, the poor fool had tried to call for help. Sometimes, for a genius, he could be really dumb. When you return to his front he has lowered his eyes for a fraction of a second, giving you just enough time to peer into his eyes, with a childlike innocence used to lure previous victims. When you've finished spooking him further, you begin to prepare for your hasty departure, making the entire scene look like a murder with the body elsewhere. After all, that is your style isn't it? Your "M.O"?

All that's missing now is a bit of blood, all over the scene. That will _really_ sell the whole shebang. You walk over to your captive, whose apartment you've just successfully trashed, and use a quick stab into his arm to draw the blood you need to make the scene look authentic. Perfect.

**Hotch's POV:**

You're driving like a madman to Reid's apartment going against all traffic laws to ensure that you can save Reid before a situation like Elle's happens. You shudder as you think of what happened to Elle, and can't imagine what would happen to Reid if it happened to him _again_. After the Hankel incident he was off, something about him troubled you. He got better in time, patched up the rift he'd created between himself and Prentiss. They soon became fast friends. You can't possibly imagine how Reid will change if something terrible happens to him again. You don't want to imagine, you want to save him. Now.

**_I kind of felt like I was on a roll today, and I was also extremely bored :P so I went ahead and wrote chapter 3 too. I hope you enjoyed reading it, and please review :)_**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hotch's POV:**

You rush towards Reid's apartment, you're almost there now. You jump out of your car and rush into the building, looking for the rest of your team. Prentiss is already there, looking hopeless. Morgan is coming in behind you followed by Rossi and JJ. "Have you gone in for him?" you ask her.

"No...I thought we might need back-up, y'know if it's...her"

"I understand. We'll split up into teams; Rossi and I will head upstairs and cover the entrance. Prentiss, you, JJ and Morgan will cover the exits down here; ensure that they don't get away. Alright, let's go for it."

You head upstairs with Rossi in your wake, and stop just behind Reid's door. Something isn't right about his apartment; it's too quiet, too calm and serene. Gently you push on the door to check if it's open, you're surprised to find that it is indeed open and unsecured. You lift your gun and torch ahead of you, creating a narrow tunnel of light for you to peer into. No sign of movement and the room is clear, you yell as much out to Rossi, who has busied himself with the room opposite – the kitchen. Running through you go into the bathroom and find it clear also. Finally you resign yourself to the room you had been dreading, the master bedroom. You tiptoe inside, and breathe a sigh of relief that the room is unoccupied. However, this also means that you have no idea where Reid is now, which only angers you further.

Now that you have ascertained your safety and Rossi's you move to turn on the lights, realising for the first time that they have been shut off, probably by the killer. You tug your mobile from its nest in your belt and call down to Prentiss, who answers on the first ring.

"Prentiss, have you had any sign of Reid and the killer?"

"No sir, no sign."

"Damn it. Right, well I need you to get into the mains of the apartment building and check if any of the circuits have been tripped, specifically the lights on Reid's floor. If she was unsure of which apartment Reid occupied but knew the floor she would have cut the whole floor's lights to make sure that there were no mistakes."

"Right sir I'm on it. But sir, how would she know which floor he's on? It's not exactly as if you can look at a person and say, "yeah, they look like a such-and-such floor kinda person" "

"You're right. We need to look at that in more detail also. Perhaps something he said in the car while driving her to HQ?"

"Maybe, but I don't think Reid would let something like that slip, do you?"

"No...In any case, check the lights for me, and turn them back on please, we need to get a proper look at the scene before we can assess the damage."

"Alright then."

**Emily's POV:**

You flip your phone closed, having just hung up on Hotch. You reach the basement and twist the knob of the door, only to find it locked. Great. Although, that now brings up the question, how did the killer get in? You mull this over for a while, finally deciding that, no matter how she got in, you have to somehow. So, you decide to do something that no FBI agent should do, but all know how to do, pick the lock. You fiddle for a while, and finally succeed in opening the door. You walk inside cautiously and flick on your torch. Good, nobody's waiting inside. You reach the circuit box and find that your suspicions were correct: the killer had cut the lights of all the apartments on Reid's floor. However, the motive behind doing this may differ from your initial thoughts. You notice the intricate method in which the killer actually bothered to short only the apartments, and not the entire floor's mainframe, something about this tells you that she _knew_ which apartment was his, and she _knew_ which floor he lived on, she just didn't want you and the team to know that she had that information.

You turn the lights back on for the entire floor, and go ahead and call Hotch to get an update on the situation upstairs.

**Rossi's POV:**

You hear Hotch's phone ring again, and hear the hum of electricity as it reaches all of the appliances that had been turned off. Finally, Emily must have returned electricity to the apartments, which also explains the incoming call to Hotch's phone. At the moment you are searching through Reid's bathroom, and, uncomfortable as that makes you, you know that it's your best chance of finding something he wanted to keep hidden. So far nothing. You take this as a good sign and move out towards the hallway to greet Hotch, now deep in conversation on the phone. What you don't realise until you've fully surveyed the scene is the complete mess the apartment is in. This, you note, is what's worrying Hotch. You look down and stare at the bland carpet on the floor, now decorated with artistic flourishes of blood. Anger strikes fast and deep, before you can even breathe you feel it punch you, and for a while all you can see is a haze of red, and the drops of blood that set you off, they hang in the air, mocking – no taunting- you.

So, the despicable woman had killed him. 'No, wait, deep breaths Dave', you think to yourself, desperately trying to keep your cool and retain your clear cut focus. You need it, now more than ever, so you can find Reid and stop his captor.

**Hotch's POV:**

You hear your phone ring, and the minute it does, you've whipped it to your ear.

"Hotch, what have you got for me?"

"It's Prentiss, looks like it was just the apartments of Reid's entire floor that were cut. What about the scene? How's it lookin'?"

"Well, it's weird to say the least. First off, there's blood, everywhere, yet it doesn't strike me as a murder. More like a staged, and purposely so, murder. Actually, it's more like a badly staged murder, she must've known we would never buy this and she's using that knowledge to antagonize us."

"I see" she chimed in.

"Secondly, the apartment's a mess. And it looks like there was a struggle, but from what JJ got from the phone call, she ambushed him and bound him shortly afterwards, somehow I don't think Reid would have been able to escape and cause this mess while bound and attempting to conceal a phone."

"So, the conclusion I can draw from this, is that she wants us to know that he's alive, possibly hurt, and that she intends on doing much worse." Said Prentiss.

"That could possibly be her agenda. Or, she could be doing this as a message to us. I've got him, you're powerless, but you're welcome to try and save him."

"I think we should discuss this further as an entire team sir."

"I agree, we'll all meet back in the conference room as soon as we've finished up at the scene."

You hang up the phone and find a seething Rossi attempting to calm down.

"Rossi. Come over here a second. Look at this" you point towards the mess created just in front of the door.

"What about it?" asks a now cold Rossi.

"Look closely at it. The mess, it looks like a struggle, but it doesn't match up to the struggle a bound and possibly subdued person could achieve. No, this was staged."

You see a look dawn on Rossi's face, almost as if he is silently chiding himself for jumping to conclusions. You guess, where family is concerned, even the coolest of cool can lose it. You would certainly know.

**_Sorry this one's a little late :/ I'm going to try and be more punctual with updates :)_**


	5. Chapter 5

**The Killer's POV:**

You'd foolishly hoped that your attempt at a cover up would have been enough; however, you had a feeling that they would only view it as antagonizing them. You poke Spencer with the gun, hoping to frighten him a little further, and prod him forwards. Once you reach a suitable looking vehicle – a pick up truck- you poke him into the back and put the cover over his head. You reach into your purse and inject a sedative into his bare arm, for good measure; after all you wouldn't want him thrashing around in the back now would you? You hop in the front and start up the engine, glad to be on your way out. You step on the gas, eager to leave the place as quickly as possible and get that phase of the kill over with. You never really enjoyed the hunt, or the capture, for you… it was all about the kill. And this kill, would be a special one.

Finding Reid had been a piece of cake. You'd known where he lived for a while; he mentioned it once when in conversation with you. You found out that he lived on the fourth floor in a six floor building, and that his apartment number was 24 from a helpful man behind the desk of his apartment block. The apartment number seemed quite symbolic, since the first time you met he was 24. Getting to his apartment building hadn't been as easy, escaping the BAU hadn't been much of a problem, escaping the FBI compound was the problem. Although, to be clear, it wasn't that much of a problem either. Getting to Spencer's house had been quite easy, you walked. You knew boy-genius would live close to work, and you could walk or take the tram, you did a bit of both in truth, as you suspect Spencer used to do on his daily commute before buying a car . Once you arrived, you were in luck. Spencer had just arrived home, driving his worn out car. You hid amongst the cars for a while, debating just running in, snatching and sedating him before he knew what hit him. But that was not an option. You wanted to see his face as he figured out who you are, you wanted to see his face crumple, twist and eventually tear up. You wanted him to pay. And pay he would, there was no doubt about it.

**Hotch's POV:**

You head up with the rest of the team in the conference room, treating this like just another case. Except, it isn't just another case, and you can feel the tension in the room as everybody tries their hardest to bring Reid back. Word gets round to Garcia as soon as the team arrives in the BAU, you see her come into the conference room with her laptop, ready to help. You feel for her, as Garcia probably feels Reid's loss more keenly than the others, not being as hardened as you and the team.

"Alright, what do we know so far?" you ask the team, hoping to ignite some ideas.

"We know that the unsub is a white female, between the ages of 25 and 35. Her previous kills all mimicked one person, all the same type of person as Reid", Interjected Morgan.

"From the victimology we can assume that the men she killed were surrogates for one male, she probably has disdain for them due to loss of a similar person in her life, or being hurt by someone similar to them. This can be seen by the way she stabs her victims repeatedly post-mortem, after having previously tortured them, as seen by the ligature marks and various other bruising and markings", Continues Prentiss.

"What was the name she was operating under again?" you ask.

"The Archer" replies JJ.

"Garcia, I want you to research the significance of 'The Archer', mythology, historically, anything that may be of importance to this killer."

"Yes sir. Would you like me to run her prints again from the hand cuffs in the interrogation room?" asks Garcia.

"That would be helpful, try to gather anything else you can find on our killer, we didn't get to question her, which means we have a lot of blank spaces here." You say, "Also, Prentiss and Morgan, I want you to go over previous kills, safe houses and favourite areas to kill. Try to get an indication of why she likes these areas, why in particular did she choose whichever place to kill her victims. Try to build a geographical profile. I want to know her comfort zone, and her home."

You watch as Morgan and Prentiss stand to leave the room, their faces showing determination. Garcia has already started running multiple searches, you will never know how she can do so many things at once, but you know that it has saved a case on many occasions. You turn to address JJ.

"JJ, I need you to deal with the press, make sure that they don't get wind of this, or our entire search will be a media circus."

"I'm on it. Should I also deal with any media surrounding the previous murders, or just Reid's abduction?"

"I suggest that you cover all the media surrounding the entire case, but pay close attention that nothing of Reid's abduction is covered, we need the killer to think that her efforts have gone unnoticed for now."

"Understood." She affirms.

She stands up and leaves the room, leaving you, Rossi and Garcia together. Rossi is watching Garcia with awe as her hands move at lightning speed to cover the entire keyboard.

"Rossi, I need you to come with me, we're going back over the killer's profile, there has to be something we've missed."

"Alright, but I think we should take a closer look at the scene at Reid's, something about it doesn't fit with the profile we'd already put out for this killer. For instance, it's far too dramatized to be her, yet, we know for a fact it is her. Do you think that the other victims were all surrogates, and Reid is her final target?"

"What would make you think that?"

"At all the other scenes she left some indication of where we would find the bodies of her victims, in this case, she left no indications, teasing clues, nothing. Also, she hasn't killed him. That in itself is odd as she always tortures victims in their own homes, murders them there and then dumps them in a far off location. She's never abducted anyone before."

"You're right. We could be looking at an unsub for whom Reid is the final target. This means that it will also be the most spectacular in her mind and she will stop killing after confronting him. We need to find him before she reaches that goal."

You and Rossi walk out of the conference room and into the bullpen to find Prentiss hunched over a map, the look on her face cool and determined. She is deep in concentration and you don't want to hinder any progress she may be making. Morgan, on the other hand, is busy organizing crime scene shots around a map, trying to figure out what it is about the location that struck the unsub as useful.

**Rossi's POV:**

You sit in the passenger seat of the SUV, not trusting yourself to drive carefully with the onslaught of rage bubbling through your veins. You wait patiently as Hotch climbs into the driver's seat and turns on the ignition and begins to drive out of the car park below the FBI. Once you're on the open road, you resign yourself to the thoughts that have been swirling in your head since visiting Reid's apartment.

The Unsub must have gotten in somehow, either through the front door, posing as a friend of Reid's then sneaking into the electrical room and cutting the floor's power supply, or through the back and followed Reid up to his apartment. In which case, how did she manage to cut the power so efficiently, and get into Reid's apartment at just the right time? It doesn't make sense. However, if she already knew what floor and which apartment he lived in, and then took the trouble of throwing you off by shorting the entire floor, it would have been remarkably easy for her to watch Reid and wait for the opportunity to present itself. However, you suspect that she arrived at the same time that Reid did, took the opportunity to watch him from a distance. Then, she stole inside, picked the lock of the electrical room, shorted out the floor and snuck upstairs before Reid could suspect a thing. Reid would have entered to a dark apartment, and would have been unable to turn on the lights. Not knowing if it was just his apartment or not, he would have gone into the landing to check, and, seeing the lights, would have assumed that every other apartment had electricity. If any other tenants had the same qualms about their electricity they would only need to check the landing, and seeing as it had electricity, they would draw the same conclusion as Reid. Having watched him walk out to the middle of the landing and try the lift for electricity, she took the opportunity to walk into his apartment and settle herself in wait for Reid. A simple yet effective plan.

Now all you have to do is figure out what motives are fuelling this unsub.

**_Hi :) thank you for reading the fifth chapter, and I hope you enjoyed reading it. Thanks to "guitargirl45" for reviewing last week's chapter :D_**

**_Also, please review, I would really appreciate any feedback. _**


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N: The Archer is the person previously known as "The Killer". **_

**The Archer's POV:**

Reid is subdued, and you look about yourself, proud at having successfully found a hide-out come torture chamber for your lovely Dr. Reid. You stare at him for a while, your thoughts swirling around and your breaths coming out in excited gasps. You had dreamed of this moment for so long, formulated the plan long ago, and set it into motion the morning of your arrest. Almost as though you had planned it, he had fallen right into your lap. The satisfaction was delectable.

You had known him before this case, in fact, you had only started killing because of him. You underwent all the changes in your life because of him. Were you still yourself and not 'The Archer' you would still have blonde hair, you wouldn't be wearing colour contacts or have changed your entire wardrobe. No. You wouldn't be killing at all if you hadn't met Dr. Reid, and if he hadn't destroyed the one thing most precious to you, a relationship you held dear. You were only trying to further her career, help her and protect her from predators like Dr. Reid, who preyed on her while she was weak. True, if you hadn't killed all of those people to help further your friend's career Dr. Reid wouldn't have been around at all, but it wasn't your fault that the profiler couldn't keep his hands to himself. Your blood boils every time you think about the final moments before your first arrest. God, he deserves to die. Now. 'Hush' you tell yourself, you make yourself think of the good times you had with your friend before Dr. Reid turned her against you. Once you feel sufficiently calm you check in on your only guest.

**Reid's POV:**

You lie awake, battered and bruised in a small room. The floor beneath you is cold, concrete and unforgiving to your shape. A slow and steady dripping noise gently attacks your senses as you feel as though you have awakened from the worst hangover in history. Of course, that's nonsense since you drink practically nothing alcoholic. Steady footsteps are descending the stairs to your right. You shut your eyes quickly and attempt to feign a deep slumber. Unfortunately your host isn't in the mood to be kind and leave you asleep. Naturally. She comes down to your level and slaps you roughly in the face. Feeling more bruised than before you open your eyes to stare at her, blankly at first, then with more defiance as you realize that she's not completely aware of you. She looks down at you with her blue eyes, staring at you so hard that it seemed she almost wished that her look could penetrate your body and kill you.

You gaze at her a while longer, then lower your eyes in defeat. You know what's coming, you know how this is going to pan out, and all you want now is for it to end as quickly as possible. With the way she's looking at you, you can safely assume that she's thinking of the different torture methods she can use on you. Primarily, she seems to be a fan of cutting. This becomes blatantly obvious with the removal of a wickedly bladed knife from the inside of her combat belt. She bends down close to where you have strewn your body on the ground, gently drags you upright then roughly shoves you into the wall behind you. Your body is in a sitting position, with your legs awkwardly bent outwards. She decides that the best way incapacitate you is to first cut deeply into the flesh behind your knees. She slices quickly, the blade moving swiftly across your skin, and at first there is no pain. The suddenly, it hits, and all you can focus on is its presence. You watch as your blood runs in streams down your calves. It takes all you have not to satisfy her by screaming. By the time she has finished on the back of your knees, the inside of your mouth is ragged and bleeding where you bit down to stop yourself from screaming. She looks up at you with a smile that suggests the pain is far from over, and all you can think about is keeping yourself strong, so that you can return to your family. Next, she decides that incapacitating your legs wasn't enough, and wipes her blade clean for a different area. She seats herself squarely across your now limp legs, bouncing a little to add to your pain, and unties your hands. She then reties one hand to your waist using the tie, and drags your other arm forward, clearly full of anticipation and delight.

**The Archer's POV:**

You watch his face as you slice into the flesh behind his knees, making it impossible for him to move his legs without feeling the searing pain of her knife. And what a beautiful knife it is, so subtle in its beauty, so elegant in its movements. A gorgeous weapon to say the least. It sliced through Dr. Reid's flesh so easily and magnificently too. His blood came out crimson, just as it had at his apartment. However, in this light, you can enjoy its stark contrast to the concrete floor below you. You enjoy how he squirms, and delight in his attempts at defiance. Ah, poor fool, if only he'd allowed you to kill him this morning, when you'd been _so_ close. Now your revenge is far more torturous than what you'd already put him through.

You wipe your blade on his already drenched trouser leg. He flinches, almost as though he is anticipating your next move. 'Not long now Dr. Reid' you think to yourself, 'not long'. You untie one of his arms and tie the other to his waist using his own tie. You tug his arm towards you impatiently and drag up the sleeve on his arm. Failing that, since it is quite a tight shirt, you proceed to pry the shirt sleeve off of his arm using your blade. You cut through the fabric, slowly at first, teasing him slightly, then rush into the fabric because you can no longer contain yourself. 'How beautiful' you think, when you see the bare expanse of his skin. Stretched before you is a plain canvas for you to begin painting. You grab your art tool, and gently drag it across your canvas. He flinches and grinds his teeth; you stop and grin at him with delight. Then, you drop your tool and use your gloved fingers to smudge the paint in different swirling patterns on his arm. A shame that the only colour you have to use is red. You begin to bore quickly, and take up your tool once more, now swiping in quick succession across his arm, each time waiting for a few seconds to see the blood ooze out of each wound. All of the wounds you have inflicted are superficial however. You want the real pain to come much later. For now, you want to have fun with your new toy.

_**This chapter is only about The Archer and Reid, since I realized that both were missing from the last chapter, save a small part at the beginning for the Killer. In this chapter I wanted to dwell a little longer in the mind of the killer, I hope you enjoyed reading her twisted thoughts :). Also, thanks to "lpearson" and "p95000" for reviewing last chapter. **_


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N : Yes Lila Archer's stalker Maggie Lowe (S01 = Somebody's Watching) Does have something to do with the killer "the archer" but I don't want to give too much away as yet.**_

**Garcia's POV:**

You're searching with all your might for the significance of archers throughout history and the entire internet. The annoying thing is how significant archers were in so many different cases. Historically bows and arrows were the first weapon used by practically every civilization thus making the archer the most significant warrior, in mythology the heroes and heroines were almost always archers and not to mention the pop culture references to Lila Archer, with whom the team had contact a few years ago. The number of hits is insane and you can feel yourself slipping into despair, when you think for a minute and realize that maybe the most useless hit you got to begin with, could be the most relevant. Lila Archer, an article had been written about her, post stalker Maggie Lowe. You find the link and click on it, and it loads up onto your computer. You begin to read the text, skimming and looking for anything helpful;

_Lila Archer's recent brush with a crazed stalker leaves her more than a little shaken up, as not only was she being stalked, people were being murdered to help further her career. This helpful stalker/murderer also happened to be a good friend of Lila's named Maggie Lowe, who is currently residing in CA's top correctional facility after having previously resided in the state institution for the mentally unstable. _

You skim over the details and nothing seems to be really relevant to you, so you exit the website and continue searching for helpful articles that could point you in the right direction. 'Here's one' you decide, and click on it to begin reading the full article;

_Maggie Lowe, previously known as Lila Archer's mysterious helper from hell, has recently escaped from CA's top correctional facility "CACF". Doctors from her previous place of residence are baffled, as she seemed to be on the road to recovery. However, with the realization that she is more unstable than they had previously thought, they encourage those involved with her prior to her arrest to be vigilant. _

You decide you've read enough, and realize that Maggie is the one the team is searching for _again_. You need to make sure that what you read is accurate, and that Lila is aware of her stalkers emergence once more. You locate Lila's number and call her. The phone keeps on ringing, but with no answer. You don't know what to make of it, but decide to call Hotch with the news.

**Hotch's POV:**

Your phone begins to ring just as you reach Reid's apartment block. You hold up a finger to Rossi, telling him to wait for you. You check the caller ID, and seeing the name "Garcia" you assume that she's found something significant and relevant to the situation. You tug your phone out of your breast pocket and answer calmly.

"Hotch, what have you got for me Garcia?"

"Okay sir, do you remember one female we helped in CA, goes by the name Lila Archer?

"Yes."

"Do you remember the specifics of that case? Primarily, the Unsub?"

"Yes. Lila was being stalked by a close friend, Maggie Lowe, who was also murdering several people she perceived as threats to Lila's career."

"Yeah, well, Maggie's escaped from prison in CA sir, and I have a feeling that she's our Unsub."

"How come we didn't hear about her escape? Surely they would have told us due to the potential danger to our team considering our involvement in the case, particularly...Reid's."

"Ah, see, they did try to notify us, but the notification got lost somewhere in the bureau's communication systems. I just found it now, after much searching and key words specifically for that particular notification."

"Wouldn't we have heard about this on the media though?"

"The problem is that the media were told to keep this on the down low so as not to spook Lila, who is supposed to be starring in her first major role this spring. I suspect that they have her in protective custody, since I've tried to call her and I've had no reply. This leads me to believe that our little starlet is in the realm of the unreachable."

"Alright Garcia, thanks for the update. See if you can find anything else about Lila Archer and Maggie Lowe."

"Yes sir. The oracle will be keeping herself very busy indeed."

You flip your phone shut and put it into your breast pocket once more. Just the news you needed. You're going after someone who's already been assessed as deeply disturbed, and you can only assume that Reid was her second stresser, hence the kills all resembling him. Rossi is now looking at you with curiosity, so you elaborate the details of your phone call with Garcia to him.

"She found a connection between Reid and our killer, and all of her previous victims."

"Oh. That sounds good, we have a lead now." Says Rossi.

"You weren't on the team yet, but our Unsub is one we've already dealt with. A few years ago, in Hollywood we had an Unsub with an obsession with Lila Archer, an up and coming actress. The Unsub also happened to be her best friend, Maggie Lowe, the problem was that her stalking escalated to murder. The Unsub ended up killing any person or group of people that came in the way of Lila's career. When Maggie herself felt threatened she turned to murdering those who stood in her way. At the time Lila developed feelings for Reid, a natural reaction to him protecting her, and Maggie became jealous of Reid. I believe, when she found out that Reid and Lila were no longer in contact, it was the stresser that caused her to start killing again, she had tried to "protect" Lila from Reid, and she couldn't."

"I still think we should check the scene Hotch. Something still isn't right about her, even with your explanation."

You look at him for a while before agreeing and setting off to Reid's apartment.

**Morgan's POV:**

You're sick of pinning up photos to a display board with a map on it. You want some action; you want to be out there, scouring the streets for Reid. He's like your little brother, and you'll be dead before you let _anything_ happen to him again. You watch Prentiss for a while, unsure of how she can keep so calm, so focused without interruption. Amazing. She notices you've stopped moving around and looks up at you.

"Something wrong Morgan?" she says to you

"No... Just, y'know. I wanna be out there helping get Reid back pronto, not sticking pictures to a map ya know?"

"I get it Morgan. I do. But we can't let that phase us right now. This is every bit as important as finding Reid. We have to predict what her current location is through past ones. Now c'mon. We can do this."

"Alright Prentiss, I got it."

"Good. So what do you have in terms of crime scenes, the secondary locations in relation to our geographical profile?"

"So far her comfort zone seems to be this area" indicating a circle on the map, "for dumping bodies. And this area" you point to another circle clustered with photos, "for selection of victims."

"Have you realised that all of her previous victims lived on the fourth floor of their apartment blocks?"

"Seems to me she definitely knew which floor he lived on."

"Looks like it."

You both return to what you'd been doing, motivated now by the revelation of finding her two comfort zones. You stare at the map for a while longer wondering what you might have missed. One thing stares blatantly back at you. In the centre of her comfort zone for stalking and abduction, and quite literally dead centre, is Reid's apartment block. Could it possibly be that she was giving you a hint by placing it in the dead centre? This could mean that her secondary location for Reid is also in the centre of her comfort zone for secondary locations. You call Garcia quickly and rattle off a list of possible coordinates for her to check out, and then look at the map satisfied with your work. Emily looks up at you once more, seeing your smile she gives you a quick grin and returns to her work. In the meantime your phone has rung again and it's Garcia.

"Hey baby girl, what have you got for me?" you ask.

"Alright, so, of all of the coordinates you've given me two fit the profile, both are disused and secluded warehouses, while simultaneously being at the centre of her comfort zone."

"Thank you sweet cheeks, you are one fine woman" you say with a smile.

"Oh, and one more piece of info that I, the oracle of the all knowing, would like to bequeath to you, my humble knight. I found some clippings from CA times, and they said that Lila Archer's stalker, Ms. Lowe, has recently escaped from CACF and has completely dropped off the grid. This could mean that she is in fact our elusive "Archer". "

"That seems like a pretty good guess. Do Rossi and Hotch know?"

"Yes, I have given them that information, do you want to pass the message onto JJ or should I call her?"

"I'll do it, and thank you baby girl."

"You're welcome my chocolate thunder."

You hang up the phone and rush over to JJ's office. She's buried in a file, while simultaneously having a phone conversation that seems to be stretching her patience thin.

"Jayj." You say.

She holds up a finger to tell you to wait for a minute, she ends her phone call and looks up at you expectantly.

"Garcia thinks that we've found our Unsub. Her name is Maggie Lowe, from California."

"Hold on, is this the same Maggie that tried to kill Spence for getting in the way of her and Lila's relationship?"

"The very same." You affirm.

"And you're sure about this?"

"Garcia says that Rossi and Hotch think it's likely, but we're not 100% sure just yet."

"Alright, so I'll ask Hotch if I should include this in the press briefing. Thanks for the heads-up Morgan."

"No problem. I gotta go, I need to talk this over with Prentiss."

You turn and leave her office, satisfied that you've found the killer and two warehouses that could possibly be hiding Reid and his captor. Now all you have to do is arrange the rescue.

_**I want to thank "pearsola" for reviewing last chapter, and I hope you all enjoyed this chapter :)**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N: I realize that the entire last chapter was written sans "The Archer" and Reid, therefore, I am going to do them in alternating chapters until the final collision. **_

**The Archer's POV:**

You've let him rest for the best part of two hours, occasionally banging loudly to startle him out of his much needed sleep, and to help him realize where he is. Once his memory has been refreshed, and that look of horror that you delight in replaces the troubled flickering of emotions from sleep, you allow him to sink back into much needed recovery. In fact, if he's going to last what you have planned, his initial well being is important, after all, you haven't even started with the _really _fun stuff. No, you were just beginning. For what he's done, he deserves far worse than the mercy and restraint you've been showing him. You decide that half an hour more of recuperation is all he'll be allowed before you go back in and assault him again. You anticipate this eagerly, and can barely contain yourself for the half hour. For what he's done, he will pay. You smirk with pleasure, and a tingle runs through your finger tips, as they itch to begin on a much more fun part of breaking Spencer Reid down.

Spencer is lying on the floor, clearly suffering. 'Good' you think as you observe his pain. You were never particularly sadistic, but his pain is giving you a gratification that you've never experienced before. You like it very much. You open the hatch down to Reid's cell. So far, you've only been observing him through a sort of "sky-light" made of durable glass. He doesn't know where it is, as it is darkened to blend in with the ceiling. You descend the steps, feeling him flinch with each step. Oh, the satisfaction you feel as you watch him wince away from the mere sound of your steps. You've succeeded in making him fear you, finally. You draw out your elegant blade and watch the light reflect off it, looking almost as if it is shimmering in the lowly lit area. He whimpers at first, but seems to buck up and resumes his "defiant" gaze at you. Inside you're chortling; the poor fool thinks he's being domineering. You swipe your blade to and fro, delighting in the way he watches the blade move with fear. You straddle his lap, being extra careful to place your rear upon his newly healing knees, and bring the blade forwards to his face. His gaze shifts momentarily, allowing you to see the fragility behind the mask he had been trying to keep up. For a spell you pity him, almost sympathize with him, until you remember what kind of monster you're dealing with. 'This is still Spencer Reid' you remind yourself, 'get a grip.' He looked so pitiful you couldn't help but pause for a second, to admire your handiwork.

He returns his gaze to you, and you resume your merciless torturing of him. "Hello Spence, how are you?" He stares blankly at you, and this only enrages you further.

"Oh, so we're playing the silent treatment? Well maybe I should make it easier for you… by say, cutting off your lips?" he begins to shake his head violently, and coughs a few times to make sure that you understand why he isn't speaking to you.

"Oh, is poor Spencer…thirsty?" you drawl out the last word, making sure he hears every syllable. "Let me just go and fetch some… water, for myself." You run upstairs quickly and fetch a bottle of water, then you run back down, seat yourself on his lap and slowly make him watch as you sip the water, each time allowing a couple of drops to roll down your chin and onto his chest. Then you bring your full cheeks by his ear, and swallow audibly enough for you to taunt him.

"Mmmm, that was so _refreshing_." He looks at you in desperation. "I'm sorry, did you want some? Here, let me fix you something better to drink. Something, with more nutrients." you reach for your blade, and carefully cut along the top of his arm, then, using the water bottle, collect his blood.

"Why don't you try some of that, Dr. Reid?" and you place the bottle full of his own blood to his lips. He looks at it for a long time, then shakes his head and purses his lips shut.

"Very well, then I won't allow you to have _any_ water. Not even a sip. After all, you didn't drink what I prepared for you, and that's just plain rude." He sizes you up again, and slowly takes the smallest of sips from the bottle you kept under his nose.

"Atta boy Spence. Here, now you can have some of this clear, clean, crystalline water." You lift the water bottle to his lips and allow him to gulp down the most part of it.

"You don't mind sharing with me, do ya?" he looks at you in recognition at that phrase. He knows who you are, or at least, he thinks he does.

"L-Lila? Is that really you?"

"Hey Spence. Never quite got you back for never calling me back. That was really rude y'know."

"Lila." He breathed. _THAT _was what had been bothering him, the fact that he hadn't been able to solve why this was all happening to him? You feel a pulsating rage take over your body. How dare he? All he cared about was the stupid puzzle, damn him. You try not to let your anger show and resume your torturing. Now that he had your identity cleared up, or so he thought, you didn't have to hold back any more.

**Reid's POV:**

The first thing that you register is the burning thirst slowly creeping down your throat. You're slumped on the ground, each breath is coming out in a gasp and your knees have sunk into a state of numbness from blood loss. Your arm is trembling with pain and right now, you're sure you've gone into shock. At least she's gone. You hope she won't be back for a while, but you don't really know how long a while is, since you've lost all concept of time. Now that you're alone you feel free to choke the sobs you'd been holding back. You couldn't give her the satisfaction of crying during torture. You wouldn't. Memories of the team engulf you; you lie frozen in pain, helpless to their attack. You remember the good things about them, the laughter and smiles, but this only makes it harder for you to prevent another round of tears. An incident hits you particularly hard, one time when you and Garcia had been making fun of Emily's year book picture. The laughter provides you with the escape you'd been seeking. You cling to the memory, glad to have a place you can sink into when the pain becomes too unbearable. When you want and need to escape.

You hear her footsteps as they descend the stairs, and know that your short moment of peace will soon come to an end. You flinch involuntarily, and you see the glee that crosses her face as you do. You know what awaits you now, and you're not looking forward to it. She begins to talk to you, and when you don't reply threatens to cut off your lips, to show her that you can't talk, not that you _won't _ talk, you shake your head violently and cough a few times for good measure. All the while she's seated on your lap, bouncing on your already tender knees. Now that she understands you, she's bounced off of your knees and is running upstairs to fetch some water. At least she's not going to let you die of thirst. Yet. When she comes back down, she seats herself on your lap and takes a few sips of the water, then, leans forward and swallows audibly into your ear. You shiver. You're so thirsty; you'd do practically anything for a drink of that water. Now she taunts you with the water, and you feel increasingly desperate.

You feel her reach for her knife, and watch as she cuts into your arm, watch as you bleed out into an open water bottle. An empty bottle. It's now about a quarter full, she removes the bottle from under your arm and raises it to your lips, gesturing for you to drink. You shake your head, there is _no way_ you're drinking your own blood. But you're so thirsty… you look down into the bottle and reason it out. If you drink your blood you'll get some of what you lost back…right? You know that this doesn't make sense, but you can't help it, you need a drink. So, you breathe deeply and take the smallest of sips, instantly the metallic taste of blood drifts into your mouth, and the sickly sweet odour that comes with it floats into your nose. You struggle to swallow, but manage in the end, and are at last allowed a drink of water.

"You don't mind sharing with me, do ya?" she says. Oh god, you've heard that before. Lila. Lila Archer, 'The Archer', it all adds up now. But something's still off, this can't be Lila, she's filming up north right now, you'd know, you were following her online. Yet somehow, this person seemed convinced that she was Lila, she never said, 'I never got you back for not calling _her_ back' she said '_me_'. Whoever she is, she believes that she's Lila. You decide to play along, and ask in your softest voice,

"Lila?"

She replies to you, happy that you've figured it out at last, but for you, the puzzle has only just begun.

**_Sorry for the late update guys, just started a new school and updates may be a little less punctual. Thanks to CaptainAlias and CriminalMindsLove1 for reviewing. I hope you enjoy this chapter :)_**


	9. Chapter 9

**Emily's POV:**

You've been searching through possible reasons why The Archer would operate in such secluded areas, but you've come up with nought. Morgan seems to have found something though, and you're pleased that he has, since he was a bit down before. Gathering up your findings, you walk over to Morgan so you can both share what you've found out. Meanwhile, Morgan has been all over the place talking to JJ, Garcia, Hotch and Rossi. You walk over to him, and see a faint smile traced across his lips, 'finally' you think, 'he's found out what we need to get Reid back.'

"Hey Morgan what've you got?"

"Oh, hey Prentiss, Garcia told me that our elusive Archer is in fact none other than Maggie Lowe, an old Unsub resurfaced."

"Maggie Lowe... I don't think I came across her in my research before joining the BAU. Is there anything I need to know about her in particular?"

"Of course! Damn I shoulda remembered that you weren't with us for the Lila Archer case. Basically, Lila Archer was an up and coming actress, and Maggie, the Unsub, was her best friend and – stalker. Maggie's stalking escalated to murder when she sensed threats to Lila's career, any person or persons that Maggie deemed as threatening to Lila's career she would murder. Now, during the case, Lila fell for boy genius, which angered Maggie. We presumed that once Lila was removed from her vicinity and Maggie was in a facility somewhere she would stop obsessing over Lila. However, we didn't think that she'd obsess over killing Reid instead."

"Ooh, ouch. Ok, so Maggie's got Reid, and I'm presuming from that little smile on your lips, you know where?"

"You got it princess. I have two locations that I need to narrow down, so if you take one, and I'll take the other we can narrow it down much faster"

"I don't think we should split up Morgan. Let's go to the first possibility together, check it out, and if it's the right one we call in for back up and the SWAT team. If not we'll continue to the second one."

"Alright Prentiss. I'm gonna tell Rossi and Hotch where we're headed. Meet me by the SUV in the car park."

"Okay."

You gather up your gun and badge and make your way out of the bullpen and into the elevator. A faint smile now traces your lips, 'Reid' you think 'We're gonna save you. Just hang tight.'

**Hotch's POV:**

A phone beeps in your wake, but you're so intent on surveying the scene with Rossi that you don't really register it's yours until you feel the vibration in your pocket. Hurriedly you pluck the phone from your pocket.

"Hotch, what've you got for me JJ?"

"Morgan told me that you suspect the Archer is Maggie Lowe, should I release this information into the press release or leave it out?"

"In all likelihood Maggie isn't busying herself with news of herself, but just in case, don't mention her as Maggie Lowe, but as Lila Archer's best friend, her...protector. From the scene, it looks like Maggie has DID, she believes that she's Lila Archer and Maggie simultaneously. This could be as a result of her going to CACF, for her a trauma. Whatever the case, you mustn't refer to Maggie as our Unsub, she cannot know that we are looking for her."

"On it. Bring him back Hotch."

"We will. Prep the SWAT team, I heard that Morgan's narrowed down two locations, in which case we'll need the back up of a SWAT team for the soft entry."

"Done."

You hang up the phone, pleased with your progress. The scene has revealed to you two distinct personalities, but it isn't MPD, otherwise the character of The Archer wouldn't remember Maggie's motives. That only left DID, Dissociative Identity Disorder.

For the second time in a few short minute your phone rings again, this time you pick up immediately.

"Hotch, what is it Morgan?"

"Me and Prentiss are going to go scope out the warehouses so that we have the right one when we go in for Reid. It could be that either or both warehouses belong to the killer in which case, setting off the the alarm in one with a stampede of SWAT would only alert her to our presence and give her time to move on, with or without Reid."

"Agreed. Check it out and report your findings, and be careful, we do not need another Hankel situation."

"Understood. We'll call in when we find out what we're dealing with."

The phone beeps as Morgan hangs up. Surveying your surroundings you ask Rossi if there's anything else he can gather from Reid's apartment, to which he says no. You pack up all of your gear and leave the scene, glad to be out of your co-worker's belongings. Invading someone else's privacy always makes you antsy, especially when it's someone you regard as family. You reach for the door handle when something stops you. No sign of forced entry. How could you have missed that? No sign of forced entry, no picked lock...nothing. Did...did she have her own key? You turn to Rossi and point this out.

"You think she has her own key?"

"I don't know what to think Dave. Would Reid have given her a copy of his key? This isn't Lila Archer, who he didn't even contact after the Hollywood debacle, this is Maggie Lowe. I don't think he'd have left a copy of his key running around. Unless –"

"Unless we have it the wrong way 'round. This is Lila Archer pretending to be Maggie Lowe. But...where's Maggie?"

"Maggie had reportedly escaped from CACF, we thought she blamed Reid for putting her there, but what if this is Lila blaming Reid for not keeping contact and _using_ Maggie as an alter after helping her escape?"

"It makes sense, it also explains why Lila wasn't picking up her phone. We had presumed it was because she was filming, but what if she'd been busy with other activities? We should call Garcia and get her to find out if Lila really has been on the set all this time or if she's been taking a 'personal break'"

"Alright, I'll call Garcia, Rossi you need to tell Prentiss and Morgan about this since they've gone to scope out the warehouses."

Both of you turn and leave the apartment, each shouldering your phones with urgency. As luck would have it, Emily picks up on the first ring.

"Prentiss, are you at the warehouse yet?"

"Not yet Hotch. We're a couple of minutes away."

"Alright, well listen, and tell Morgan. Rossi and I believe the killer is actually Lila Archer, with the alter ego of Maggie Lowe. This explains her anger towards Reid, as she has anger from both alters. It also means that you have to be extra careful as we don't know what we're dealing with when it comes to Lila."

"Ok. I'll pass it on to Morgan. In the meantime, I think the SWAT team should be on stand-by. We've not yet reached the first location, but the area has too much traffic to fit the Archer's M.O. which probably means she'll be operating in the second location."

"How long would it take you to get from the first location to the second?"

"About ten minutes. Morgan and I will be done from the first location in about half an hour, provided that she isn't operating there."

"We'll all be waiting for your call Prentiss. Keep me informed."

"Will do."

She hangs up the phone, and you look over to Rossi who is making some headway with Garcia. Once he's done from his phone call you both rush to the SUV and drive to HQ as fast as traffic in Quantico allows.

**Garcia's POV:**

Who knew Lila Archer could be this cruel to Boy Genius? You're searching through her life again, this time not as a victim but a killer. She has no rep sheet, no criminal dealings of any kind. Until now, that is. Coming up with no answers, you search through her attendance history for her new film, and, hey presto – you've found something. Lila took some personal time off due to bad memories resurfacing during shooting. The film was a horror, and it involved stalking and murder. What else? Her agent had probably suggested she go for it because of her experience as a victim. Now, you're no profiler, but something like that would push anyone over the edge. Inwardly cursing you busy yourself trying to find out exactly where the evil starlet had been for the past few weeks. Tapping away, you find her credit card records coming up blank, her phone records showing no activity save the calls you paid her, and no cash withdrawals from her bank account. It's almost like she's not really alive at all.

**_Hey guys, sorry for the slow updates :/ anyway... for the usual thank-you: "BlackEvangeline", "Foxfire832001" and "Guitargirl45" for reviewing the last chapter :) Also, thanks to "CaptainAlias" for the feedback _**

**_I would love to know how everyone thinks the story is going and if they'd like it to go another way, or any other things you'd like to see mentioned in the next couple of chapters :). I'm also thinking of doing a one-shot, so...any prompts would be helpful :D_**


	10. Chapter 10

_**A/N: In case you didn't really understand last chapter, The Archer is simultaneously Lila and Maggie. But Lila and Maggie still exist within The Archer persona as alters.**_

**The Archer's POV:**

He's drained. You look at him, watch his chest rise and fall with a startlingly fast pace. Sympathy almost washes over you, before you scold the Lila in you. You're The Archer now. Not Maggie, not Lila. You are The Archer. Before you underwent your transformation into who you are now, you decided to let your three distinct personalities reign when necessary. It seems that Lila hasn't been out nearly enough, or you wouldn't be sympathising with Doctor Reid right now. Or thinking of him as your lovely. Damn it, sometimes Lila was much too hard to control recently. Perhaps if you tone down the torture for a while, she'll stop being such a pest. If you do that however, Maggie will start being even more forceful, although you'd rather give in to Maggie than Lila, at least Maggie will teach the boy a lesson, so...you count to three and let Maggie wash over you.

**Maggie's POV:**

**Finally, you're free. It's been so long, way too long in fact. The Archer is so **_**controlling**_** and you can't help but feel some disdain towards her. She's so damn preoccupied with doing a task that you'd rather be doing, damn it. You've practically missed all of the fun. At least you got to participate in the hunt, which was always your favourite part. So she knows when to use your skill, that doesn't mean she can take over once she's done! Actually, it kind of does and you know it. Control Freak. Just once you'd like to be able to participate in the torture instead of being a viewer. You escaped for a reason, and that reason was- oh crap...**

**Lila's POV:**

You've been trapped so long, and in your own body for god's sake! So much for not playing the victim to your stalker, you're actually playing her host body! Well, that's not strictly true; since you're the one that helped Maggie escape, and then formed The Archer with her...I suppose your own oppression is partially your own fault. You never expected that The Archer would completely dominate you though! You think that even Maggie didn't see this one coming, although, The Archer seems to prefer her over you. The only reason you joined forces with Maggie in the first place was because you were pissed at Spencer for never making contact after your brief time together in Hollywood. You didn't want to hurt him, just teach him a lesson, and you thought that Maggie would know the perfect way to do that. Well, turns out she did just that, and more. Because of all the bickering that ensued when you and Maggie joined forces, The Archer came about, and dominated all...the bitch.

**The Archer's POV:**

You've regained control of your alters at last. That took you longer than normal, and you're glad that the struggle is over so that you can get back to business. Even in the back of Lila's mind, she knows that she wants this. She...just doesn't know it yet. Ah well, you should retain your composure now, you're about to make a very special visit to your captor, and you don't want him to question your sanity.

**Reid's POV:**

You hear banging and squealing from above you, it sounds as though as struggle is happening upstairs, but you can't really tell if there are more people there to help Lila, or if it's your team launching your rescue. Damn, you wish you knew what to do, but for now you ponder the mystery that is the persona of Lila Archer. Lila was never this cruel, even when it had been her best friend stalking her, she hadn't wished for anything bad to happen to her, Maggie on the other hand was ruthless. Now that you think about the face of your captor and Lila's, you can see the similarities – although there was definitely some surgery done there. Thinking about it, you can see how The Archer is like a combination between the completely soft Lila, and the hardened and criminal Maggie. The fact that it took you so long to realise this is astonishing to you, but you put it down to severe blood loss and trauma.

Looking down at your arms, you can tell that infection has set in at least half of your wounds, some are leaking white goo, and your medical knowledge tells you that that is probably pus. Fearing further infection, you dare not touch the wounds lest you spread anything you already have further. You twitch your legs a little to test mobility, and find them completely numb and worthless, looks like you won't be running out of your cell anytime soon. The tie is still bound around your waist, now useless as your arms can to little more than flop, and therefore do not need to be tied back. Lila may return any time soon, and you fear what might happen if she does. You test your legs again. Nothing. Little tremors begin at your legs and shake their way up your spine, you know that these tremors are the beginning of sobs, and it takes all you have to stop them from coming. You succeed, barely, and try to shut your eyes for a bit more rest before your torturer comes downstairs.

Moments later The Archer descends the stairs, banging every step down, causing you to involuntarily flinch. Damn you wish you wouldn't do that. She reaches the bottom step and glides forward to sit next to you. "Hey Spencer" she says softly

"Hi Lila."

"What's the matter Spencer? Are you unhappy to see me again? Was I not good enough for you? What, am I no _Austin_?"

"Lila...I..."

"Save it Spencer, I know about her. Gosh, it seems like the worse the situation is when you save them, the stronger the bond. Was I not in enough danger Spencer?"

"No Lila. Please –", you beg as you see her unsheathing her blade

"Enough", her voice came out steely and cold. She withdrew the blade fully, swished it through the air a few times to appreciate its gleam, then grins at you wickedly. You know what's coming, she knows you know, and delights in the fact that you do. Classic sexual sadist, with a touch of psychosis, and a heated passion, the perfect blend for any ugly murder.

_**Thanks for reading the 10**__**th**__** chapter. I know, I know, this one didn't contain much in terms of plot movement, but I promise the next one will contain far more. :)**_


	11. Rescue Attempts

**Hotch's POV:**

You've begun to become antsy, you haven't had any contact with Reid at all and that makes you nervous, at least when he'd been with Hankel you'd had some form of contact with him, albeit one-sided. Reid's been gone for three days now, and you have nothing to prove that he hasn't been fatally injured yet. It drives you mental just thinking about it, of course you can't let it show, that would severely impair the team's undoubting faith in your ability to remain calm and bring him back. You cannot fail. Garcia hasn't called you yet with updates your searches into Lila Archer, something about the whole situation has you suspicious, and you don't really think that Maggie is the one responsible, but why would Lila emulate Maggie in her thoughts? Could it be that Lila secretly enjoyed having Maggie look out for her, and she was traumatized by Maggie's arrest? Yet, that doesn't seem right either...what was her trigger? Was...was Reid her trigger? You know that he hadn't contacted her since Hollywood, and had since found Austin, another short-lived attraction. Perhaps Lila knew about Austin, which would explain her anger towards Reid, and how all of the kills leading up to his kidnapping had resembled him immensely. In fact, you would bet that Lila still had strong emotions for Reid since her victimization that she was unwilling to let go of, deep emotions for her saviour who had seemingly moved on.

Time passes quickly for you, and soon you receive a phone call from Prentiss announcing that she believes she has found the warehouse where Lila has Reid. It seems unlikely to be this easy, but you suit up anyway, instructing Rossi and the remaining team to do so as well. Hastily you drive out to the warehouse, so close and inconspicuous that it seems like the perfect hide-out, and there you meet with Prentiss and the waiting SWAT team.

**Emily's POV:**

It seems unbelievable when you find the warehouse so quickly, the first one you checked, the one you thought most unlikely – was in fact the one being inhabited. At present you weren't sure by who, but you had a pretty good guess already – Lila Archer. Seeing the twisting forms moving across the walls made you believe that she was really in there, and so you did not hesitate to call Hotch with the news, having promised him that you wouldn't go in alone with Morgan. He picked up on the first ring, and you felt yourself shudder when you heard his customary greeting.

"Hotch, have you found the warehouse Prentiss?"

"Looks like it sir, there's movements inside, although I can't really tell how many people are currently in the place, and it fits her M.O. – abandoned, unsecured and completely hidden in plain sight."

"Alright, I'll meet you out there with a SWAT team in five, tell Morgan to cool it- I don't want him bursting in from frustration."

"Got it sir."

"See you Prentiss"

You hang up the phone, jittery from your conversation with Hotch, nervous and anticipating Reid's return home. Once he is safe and relatively unharmed, you wouldn't mind focusing your attention on _other_ matters. But the time for that is not now. Slightly ashamed of the direction of your thoughts, you focus on the case, berating yourself slightly for losing focus in the first place. Morgan is standing around looking testy, so you decide to cool him off a bit until Hotch arrives.

"Morgan. Hotch said that he'll be here in five, do you want to talk tactics until then?"

"Alright princess, how about we do a soft entry through the front and back doors, the loading areas for the warehouse can me smoked so that any escape attempts from there can be easily extinguished."

"O-kay" you say, splitting the word into two syllables as you mull over his tactic. "What if we did a soft entry from all sides, smoking only when necessary to quench escape attempts?"

"In that case we'd need to branch off into teams first. We should devise that immediately so it is prepared for when Hotch arrives."

"Gotcha. Okay, I'll go with Hotch, you can take Rossi, and the SWAT team can split off into branches amongst themselves."

"Sounds good Prentiss. Aiight, see you soon, Imma go call Garcia."

He stalked off into the dense trees surrounding the warehouse and plucked his phone from his pocket. You watch him dial the numbers and raise the phone gently to his ear. Thinking on it, you guess that he's probably a lot more frustrated than he's letting on, knowing that Reid could be in there, and he can't go in and get him without the backup of his superiors first.

It took less than five minutes for Hotch to arrive on scene, already vested up and ready for the tactical entry into the warehouse. You split into the teams that you and Morgan had previously agreed on, and await Hotch's signal to enter the warehouse.

**Hotch's POV:**

Upon arriving at the warehouse, you can already tell that Prentiss and Morgan have plooted out the tactical assault and are ready to proceed. Thrilled that you'd been paired with Prentiss (she's a cautious partner you tell yourself) you move forwards and signal for her to move ahead of you. Taking your cue before you even make it, she glides silently before you and flattens herself against the wall and peeps into the small basement window. Shaking her head, she looks directly at you, looking for more instructions. You signal for her to lie low so that you can assess the situation from the rear windows. Looking in, you see no movement, save a shadow on the back wall, and decide that it should be safe to enter from this door without being harmed. You motion for Prentiss to join you as you both slide on your bellies towards the door, keeping out of sight of all windows. The way her body moves is jammed into your head, and it takes all of your concentration to block out the unneeded information your brain has chosen to gather.

Creeping in, the two of you cross the alien threshold, keeping your eyes peeled for all any and all movement. Your guns are pointed in front of you, the torches you hold swinging lances across the otherwise dark area. Nothing. Motioning for Prentiss to take left you both begin to call out clear for each room, relieved that you hadn't found Reid in a bad position, yet anxious that you hadn't found him at all. What you did find astounded you.

**Morgan's POV:**

Wary of how little there is to do around you until Hotch comes, you decide to check in on Garcia to see if she's found any new leads. The phone keeps ringing and ringing, yet she doesn't pick up. Maybe she's just really busy right now. You try again and this time, she picks up.

"You have reached the all knowing oracle, speak and be heard"

"Hey mama, got anything new for me?"

"Derek, I wish I did, but so far all I've been able to find is evidence that Maggie is Lila, or lack of evidence of Lila's existence."

"Explain please, in English if you wouldn't mind." You smile.

"Okay, so there's a bunch of evidence which says that Lila is dead, her bank records have been clear since she took her personal break off the film. Maggie's, on the other hand, has been rife with activity."

"What if Lila is using Maggie's accounts because she believes that she is Maggie?"

"That would explain a lot muffin. I'm going to continue my work now, bring him back Derek."

"You know I will mama."

You set your phone down, shove it into your pocket and hope that what you said to Garcia is true. While you're thinking your morbid thoughts, the sound of a car pulling up roars from behind you and you turn around to find Hotch looking at you through the windshield. He nods his head, and you immediately start talking tactics with the SWAT team, conveying yours and Emily's plan. Once the plan has been shared, you split into your teams and begin your entry into the building. Rossi moves forwards, easing into a gentle but fast pace, then flattens against the wall and opens the door relatively quietly. You step in behind him, and periodically both of you shout "clear" when you reach an empty room. You swing the beams of your torch to and fro, finding nothing but empty spaces and used syringes. Looks like you've come across a user's palace. From your earpiece you can hear Hotch's breathing, a sound crackles and he's speaking to you

"Morgan, I don't think this is the right warehouse. We need to exit as quickly as possible without raising any alarms."

"Sir, Rossi and I will exit soon, are you and Prentiss clear?"

"Ah, no. I need you to round up all of the SWAT team, once you've done that update me so that Prentiss and I can exit."

"Right. On my way out now sir."

You spin on your heels and find Rossi behind you looking slightly alarmed.

"what is it?" you whisper to him

"a meth lab on this side- I believe it connects to the other side where Prentiss and Hotch are" he whispers back furiously.

"Damn it." You curse. "right, we have to exit in a calm and orderly fashion as fast as we can, otherwise Prentiss and Hotch aren't safe to leave the building."

"gotcha. I'll call in the SWAT team."

As Rossi calls in the SWAT team, you try to think of possible reasons why Hotch would want you to evacuate a meth lab- if it was empty that is. Then it hits you, the lab is probably run by someone who – at the moment – has Prentiss and Hotch in a threatening position. Jeez, they could never get a rescue attempt the easy way could they?

_**Sorry for the long wait :/ thanks to everybody who commented, PM-ed me and favourited – I really appreciate all of it. It seems that the BAU family can never catch a lucky break can they? I think I'll probably end this soon – but who knows? As always R&R! :D**_


	12. LilaMaggieThe ArcherReid?

**Reid's POV:**

Lila is seated on your lap, and has now realised that your legs are immobile. Finding this hilarious, she's proceeded to draw crosses in your already wounded legs with her knife – symbolizing how utterly useless your legs are to you now. However, instead of blood seeping out of the cuts, white pus leaked out – splattering Lila and causing even her to cringe away from you. Disgusted by this, you desperately tried to look away, however much disgusted by it she was though, she still managed to make something fun of it for herself. That is why you are now lying in the middle of the concrete floor – covered in dust and completely naked. Lila believes that you will catch some sort of infection _much_ faster if you are left in the cold, in dirt and uncovered. Right now, you're frozen; you can't feel any of your extremities, no matter how much you move them. Wiggling your toes and fingers, you delight in watching the movement, glad that you haven't lost mobility as yet. Soon, though. Soon you will lose mobility, and will be able to die much faster. Right now, you're hoping that you die quickly or are saved quickly by your team. The latter seems unlikely to you now – as your addled brain refuses to accept it as a probability. Instead, you're hoping that your end is near and that you can go in peace. You hope that she will not kill you, but that you will die without her realizing. But that is very, very unlikely.

The trapdoor overhead bangs open, you know from experience that Lila descends from the trapdoor in the ceiling, onto the stairs and then comes to torture you. Recently, the lack of heat has kept her away for much longer than normal, as she presumes that you are being weakened by the freezing temperatures – and she would be right in that assumption. Descending slowly, and stamping her feet against the cold, she glides towards you – rubbing it in that she has full winter garb on and you have only a pair of worn underpants. In her hand she holds a small flask like item – perhaps she is here to tease you with a warm drink. That wouldn't be too bad, you think, you can take the mental games- it's the physical ones that cause you the most distress. However, you didn't expect the flask to contain boiling water. She throws it at you almost as soon as she reaches your shivering body. You scream in pain, the water hits like a scalding knife against your skin. You can't take it, it burns you from the outside in! Then slowly, your skin becomes accustomed to it and the water begins to freeze on your flesh – causing even more shivers than before. You can feel the water becoming colder, and it draws your body heat with it. At last, tired of watching you squirm, the Lila alter of the Archer throws you one of her many winter jackets and leaves it lying on the floor in wait. You struggle towards it, pick it up and fling it over your lump of a body. The warmth it brings you is not nearly enough, but it feels glorious to your mangled limbs. You sigh in relief and black out.

**The Archer's POV:**

Look at him, so pathetic. He's shivering like it's Antarctica in the basement, in fact the only thing you've done is activate the freezer option installed in the basement. Originally the warehouse had homed freezer goods from a manufacturer in rural Virginia, then supplied them to the shops that wanted the products. The basement was the freezer, and although it was converted into a basement when the products changed the freezer options remained, as it would have cost the company far too much to remove them. Lucky for you, as this toy has you overjoyed with a new method of torture – apparently Dr. Reid doesn't like the cold. You smile inwardly, and look at him through your window again. He's shivering pathetically, and although he doesn't realise it; his body is rocking back and forth across the small space he's occupying. His wounds are still not too badly infected – and you're certainly not going to let him die of a measly infection; where's the fun in that? A gunshot wound would be too fast, a slit throat would be too disgusting for you; freezing to death is far too slow- so you've resolved to do a mixture of freezing and cutting. Magnificent.

Descending the stairs, you stomp your feet a bit to ward off the cold- but also to frighten him. Enjoying his every flinch, you glide towards him soundlessly, now appearing before him like a fur-clad ghost. In your hands is a bulb of warmth, which you plan to inflict upon Spencer. Carefully unscrewing the top of the bottle, and raising it to your lips as if you're about to blow on it, you shove it in one and listen in glee as it hits his bare skin. He is writhing in pain, and this pleases you greatly.

_Lila's POV:_

_Poor Spencer, the Archer is being wretched to him. You can't bear to see him writhing and contorting in pain anymore- so you unzip one of your many jackets and throw it over to him as lightly as you can. Unfortunately, you know that your act of kindness is only going to prolong his suffering, but you can't stand to see him like he is now. It's just too much for you. Right now the Archer's probably dreaming of ways to hurt you from the inside, but you can't bear the sight of Reid, no matter if he didn't call you back. It was just a stupid mistake anyway, but you can't change what you've done with Maggie now. A shame, because if you had control, you would change everything, and leave Reid be. Of course, nobody ever said it was too late to change anything – _

**The Archer's POV:**

Maggie's been strangely silent recently, perhaps she finally agrees with you. Then again, Lila has been more vocal, yet not strong enough to overthrow each of you. Your musings are interrupted with an incessant beeping that could wake the dead, turning on your heel you whip out your stolen phone (courtesy of Maggie) and answer on your way up. It's too damn cold for you to be hanging around down here, after all.

**Reid's POV:**

At last, she's disappeared again, it seems something has displeased her, and you can't help but feel relieved. You've never felt so good after passing out, and now it feels as though all of your limbs have had time to recuperate – even slightly. Stunned by the silence, you mull over what could be annoying her so much; and then it hits you. The only thing that could annoy the cool, calm and collected Archer would be – your team. Damn they must be close, you tell yourself to hold on a little longer, for their sakes.

_**A/N: I'm leaving it until the final chapter for you to decide if the killer is Lila in Maggie's body or vice versa. Thanks for reading the 12**__**th**__** chapter, I hope you enjoyed it and please R&R :D . I would also like to thank "CaptainAlias" and "Guitargirl45" for commenting continuously throughout this story :D. Thanks for all the favourites, PMs and such – I really appreciate it all :) I am also extremely interested to hear any guesses you have regarding the true host for all of the alters, feel free to PM me or leave it in the reviews :)**_


	13. Secondary rescue attempts

**Hotch's POV:**

You're sat on the floor with Emily's head cradled in your lap, there's blood all over your crisp white shirt, and there's a maniac pointing a gun at you. Well, this is probably one of the worst rescue attempts _ever._ A meth lab, being run by a buddy of the Archer's, not only that, no of course not – like that's not enough – she knew you were coming, and decided to take matters into her own hands. Damn it.

**AN HOUR AND A HALF PREVIOUSLY:**

**Emily's POV:**

Standing in front of you is a large man holding a rifle, not too unusual considering the fact that he believes you're trespassing on his property. Happens a lot really, now that you come to think of it, big men with rifles, protecting what they see as 'theirs'. God knows, you've been in this same situation countless times, sometimes by yourself, sometimes with others- but there's always a gun involved. So far, he's only asked that you and Hotch remain still, and tell all of the SWAT members to leave the rig, or you die. Lovely, how in a showdown between men, the woman gets shot. Hotch won't be stupid though, you trust him with your life, and don't doubt his abilities as an agent – or section chief. You listen as he calls in the orders to Morgan, who is presently on the other side of the warehouse mounting a search for Reid. Watching him speak quietly into the speaker in his cuff, he does so as discreetly as possible so as not to alert the bozo. Thinking about the bozo standing before you now, you realize that you have absolutely no idea who he is. However, all probability suggests that he is some crazed fan of Lila's, or some buddy from jail of Maggie's. Either way, he's got it bad for the killer, and that can't spell anything good for you.

It seems as though Morgan has taken Hotch's advice and is evacuating the building with all of the SWAT team, Hotch looks like he is thinking hard and you should probably be thinking about a way out too. You watch as he sits on the floor, a submissive gesture, and motions for you to do the same. He's trying to make you seem less of a threat by appearing smaller, this makes sense, as the smaller the woman, the greater the sympathy. Unless small women are his type, then you're screwed. You curl up slightly, to make yourself seem vulnerable rather than threatening, with a look at Hotch you realise that this was what he'd wanted all along. For some reason this thrills you, although it's probably just the thrill of knowing that you know your partner well enough by now. Hotch's plan seems to have worked, as the man holding the gun has now turned all of his attention to Hotch, who is busy staring him down. You watch as he raises the rifle and aims towards Hotch, who remains unblinking and unflinching – unfortunately you do not have as much faith in this plan and are trying to formulate one where the gun is in your possession and not his. Unfortunately, nothing solid's come to mind as yet. In a sudden movement, Hotch's head perks up, your captor notices this and immediately begins bombarding Hotch with questions. Hotch's head turns towards you, and he shakes it slightly as if to say "don't even think about it", then he cautiously turns and faces the man once more and tells him coldly, "Your meth lab has been discovered on the other side by my team before they evacuated, they are now mounting a search for myself and Agent Prentiss, and do not care who they injure in the process of saving us."

Finally, your captor speaks without pressing for information, instead a cold voice emanates from within him, "Tell your team," he spat, "that I don't do "rescues" nor do I give up two prize hostages such as yourselves"

You watch as the gun now points deliberately at you, and he says calmly, "Now, I've been watching how you look at this here Agent Prentiss, and I think it suffices to say that you don't want her getting any _serious _injuries. Am I correct?"

"Agent Prentiss will sustain no injuries, as you are going to put that gun down and allow us to leave this room as we agreed before."

"I'm sorry agent, that's a no deal. You've found both of my labs, that means the second you're outta here, you're gonna call drug trafficking or some shit, and they're gonna bust my butt for this setup."

"We can promise a lighter deal if you let us out of here unscathed, and tell us who you've just informed of our presence."

"I can promise an injury not quite so severe to Agent Prentiss if you don't stop trying to negotiate, if you continue – well things can only go downhill from there."

"So what do you want us to do then?"

"Nothin'. I tell you though, she's a mighty pretty 'un." This rubs you up the wrong way, as you can only imagine what images are flashing through _his_ mind. Hotch throws you a look that says leave it, and you obey- you have no wish to be shot.

"Now," he continues, "I would like you to take off your fancy vests, and cast them aside. They'll be plenty useful to me later on."

Both of you throw each other a look, and then very slowly begin to unhook your Kevlar vests. Damn it, you hate it when they make these sorts of demands, it always ends badly for the agents. Taking the slowest amount of time possible, you cast your vest aside and wait for Hotch to do the same. As you see it, he's stalling, with OCD like precision; he's removing each strap gently and slowly – as if he's hooked to a bomb. By now, your captor's become impatient, and makes quick work of Hotch's vest by prodding you in the shoulder with the gun. Seeing your opportunity, you yank the gun as hard as you can – foolishly hoping that the gun can be wrestled from his grip. At first he doesn't notice as you've taken him by surprise, but the second he does he squeezes the trigger, and you're numb as you watch the bullet enter your shoulder. You don't really see much else, as darkness engulfs you.

**PRESENT**

**Hotch's POV:**

You've ripped a strip off the bottom of Emily's shirt and made a sort of makeshift sling for her shoulder. It looks nasty, and probably hurts like hell too. Emily's stirring gently, and you're doing your best not to wake her, as once she wakes up the pain will become unbearable – you would know. The maniac still has his gun pointed at you, worse, he has your gun pointed at you as well as the rifle he had before. You still have your earpiece and mic though, and you use this to your advantage. Goading him is the only way out, and so you begin something that could possibly be suicidal. "Hey- hey big guy with the gun"

"Yeah Hotchner?"

"Are you like the Archer's bitch or something?"

"What did you call me?"

"You heard me. I mean, you do her bidding when she asks, and exactly as she asks. What kinda situation did she get you out of?"

"Shut up fool. Do you want another shot to your pretty brunette?"

"Oh no, I'm far better- I wouldn't take out my anger at a man on a woman. That's pathetic, and emasculating."

"Fine then, I'll just shoot you."

"Ah, ah ,ah, see I don't think you will, you see, if you do then you're at risk of being shot down by the rest of my agents- who at present have surrounded your warehouse." You finish smugly, as you know this is true. From the minute that Emily got shot, you've had a constant stream of updates from Morgan on how your rescue is going. So far, so good.

**Morgan's POV:**

It took you awhile to devise this plan, but you think you've got it nailed. A simple entry to spook him on one side of the warehouse, and then bam!, the real entry right into his room. SWAT is going to act as the decoy while you and Rossi go for it and bring him in. You heard the gunshots, you're sure that Prentiss has been hit, but you don't know how hard – that's why you called in the EMTs. Now you're rounding up the troops for round two, and begin to launch your attack.

You give SWAT the go ahead, and they launch the loudest entry into the warehouse you've _ever_ heard. Excellent. Rossi creeps ahead of you and opens the door softly, you watch as the captor leaves to investigate the source of the crashes and bangs, while you and Rossi creep in and help Prentiss and Hotch leave the room. Gently you lift Prentiss' legs and Hotch her head and shoulders, you don't have time to allow the EMTs entry into the warehouse. You set her down carefully, then rush into the warehouse with Hotch and Rossi ahead of you, ready to catch the sick scumbag and put him behind bars. It's like your best lead was served to you on a silver platter. Soon, you'll know the real identity of "The Archer", whether it's Maggie as Lila, or vice versa. But first, Reid's rescue and capture of the Archer. Then questioning...

**_Hi :) thanks for reading the 13th chapter. Please R&R, and I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter :D Anyhow, I've been thinking of branching off this story with another one, more Hotch/Prentiss centric- please let me know what you think :) thanks again, and I really appreciate all the favourites, reviews and PMs. _**


	14. Final Collision I

**Reid's POV:**

You're so tired, so very tired – and you can't change that no matter how much you sleep. It's been so long since you've seen the team; since you've had contact with the people you love...too long. Everything's dragging out now, and you can't take it anymore, when she comes in again – you're going to beg her to kill you. It's done, you're done. Eventually she was going to kill you anyway, it was only a matter of time; at least now you get control over that – if she agrees that it is. Which is why you'll be appealing to the Lila in the Archer. With all of the changes in appearance and your deprived brain, you can't even tell whether your captor is Maggie or Lila – and that above all, shames you. Deep down, you know that it can't be Lila, she's far too soft to do something like this. Far too kind. Keeping track of Lila had been hard, and her reasons for leaving the movie set had been plausible, still you don't think that she'd take a personal break to become a murderer. However, if someone called in her personal break for her because she'd been murdered...Lila's dead. It hits you like a ton of bricks, and in that instant you know it's true. Lila's dead, and your ruthless captor is none other than Maggie, a best friend with a guilty conscience.

This is bad news for you, Maggie hates you; she thinks that you broke Lila's heart – she even mentioned it herself. What you want to know is how. How did she know that you'd never called Lila? It's not as if the relationship was publicly advertised after the Hollywood incident, how was she to know that you had never called? Suppose she'd been keeping tabs on Lila, even in prison, then it makes sense. But how? The only possible answer is someone on the outside, someone with enough weakness that Maggie could exploit- perhaps even an ex-inmate that Maggie had protected. Maybe a relative who believes that Maggie is still good? Right now you're wishing that you had a connection to Garcia- she'd be able to get you that information in a tick. It's driving you insane, none of the resources to figure out the mystery, and therefore none of the mystery to keep you occupied and your mind away from your impending death. Gloomy as that thought is, you can't help but think that you will eventually be killed, at Maggie's hand. Hopefully it'll be soon and mercifully, if Lila has a say in it anyway. If Maggie has a say in it , then you're in for a cold execution, and if it's the Archer – well you just hope that it's _not_ the Archer. Right now, the chances of the team rescuing you are better than before the phone call, but still it is unlikely that you will be saved, at least you know that they'll have exhausted every possibility to get you out of here. Just the thought of that calms you down sufficiently.

**The Archer's POV:**

He's calmed down. That will not do while you are around; you need him to be constantly reminded of your presence, for all the time he spent without you in his mind. Shivering slightly in anticipation, you continue planning his demise, just the thought of it has you trembling in glee. His team will never find him, and you'll have had your way with him by the time they find his mangled and dishevelled body. Satisfaction courses through your veins and you look down at your planning sheet. Recently, you've had to record your thoughts on paper – all the alters have made being in your brain extremely confusing. Maggie's suggesting that you stab him quickly in the stomach and allow his own stomach acids to slowly kill him, but that is far too gruesome for your liking, Lila's pleading that you don't kill him at all – but if you must then please, a quick bullet to the head. For what he's done, that is too kind. No, he must suffer. You can't sit around and wait until he dies of infection though, god knows that by that time the team would probably have found him. As it is, they've already found warehouse number one- the fake holding cell. As far as you're concerned any operations going on in there have nothing to do with you, and you want nothing to do with them. This suits you both just fine- after all the owner of _that_ warehouse pretty much worked his ass off to get you out of CACF. You should be more grateful to your own blood, but he's not really your blood – he's Maggie's.

Those pests from the BAU found warehouse number one, but it's highly unlikely that they've found this one, you've hidden it far too well. From the sound of it on the other end, Dom shot the pretty dark haired one... what was her name...Elle? No, they'd called her something else...Emily. It appears a change was brought to the BAU, this has you feeling guilty as you do not want to take revenge on someone who wasn't directly involved in your initial arrest, your second one was a dud anyway, so it didn't really matter that she was involved in that one. It displeases you though, having shot someone unrelated – what a waste of a bullet. Emily, the name sounds familiar to you, not just from the BAU but from Spencer, he'd been muttering her name while he slept. Would mention of her shooting make him even more depressed? The idea of adding mental torture to the physical pleases you instantly, so much so that you forget about the wasted bullet. You'll get back at Lou about it later anyway.

**Reid's POV:**

She's returning, you can hear her pounding footsteps as they bash against the unforgiving floor. Soon she'll be torturing you again, so you steel yourself for the blows, and hope that you can fight through it for the possibility of seeing your team again. You shiver slightly, and hide the chattering of your teeth – you don't want to seem weaker than you already do.

"Hey Spencer, how're you doing today?" She asks as she enters your frozen abode.

"How long have I been down here Lila?" you ask, your voice cracking with the strain from speaking.

"Two, three days is my guess. Should be the same amount of time Emily should be spending in hospital – if she makes it that is." She finishes with a wicked grin, and you know that she speaks the truth.

"What've you done to Emily, Lila?"

"Why, do you love her now that she's in trouble? Or have you always loved her Spencer?"

"I never loved you Lila! You forced yourself onto me, and I responded because-"

"I would never do that!" Maggie cut in, "I'm not some cheap whore, I would never throw myself at a guy out of fear!"

"Well, maybe you wouldn't Maggie, but Lila did."

"We've gotten off topic Spencer, do you love Emily?"

"I don't know Maggie, do you love Lila?"

"Forever. I will never stop loving her."

"They why did you kill her?" You finish somewhat smugly, pleased that your assumptions had been correct. Maggie looks flabbergasted, and this leaves you slightly happier that before, and perhaps with a bit more of a hopeful outlook.

**The Archer's POV:**

He started off by addressing you as Lila, and you thought you were safe that he hadn't figured you out yet. Then, bam! He starts calling you Maggie, and you know that he's got it sussed, not only that, he thinks that you've killed Lila – she's right here, how can she be dead? And why would you kill your best friend? Perhaps Spencer's losing his touch.

'Or you're losing yours' says a niggling voice inside your head.

**Hotch's POV:**

You rode along with Emily inside the ambulance, held her hand the entire way and provided some comfort to her. Then, you saw her into the hospital safely and rushed to the second warehouse, where Morgan had already begun the tactical planning for the assault on The Archer. Assuming that the Archer hasn't moved base, then you'll have found Reid and can get him into care. Jumping into your car, you speed out to the scene, faster than you'd driven to reach Reid's apartment after his capture. This time, you will be in time to save him. This time, you'll win.

_**Hey guys :) thanks for reading the 14th chapter, I hope you enjoyed it. So, next chapter will possibly be the next, unless I do an epilogue for the story, which I may be tempted to do ;P  
>I really hope that you enjoy the final instalment of Reid's rescue<strong>_


	15. Author's note

**_ A/N: I absolutely hate leaving an entire chapter of Author's Notes, but it can't be helped. I know I haven't updated in a while, and it's because I'm stuck on the end. So, I am going to post up two alternate endings, and the preferred ending (if there is one) will possibly get a sequel. The first ending should be posted up soon, and the second might take a little longer, depending on how much free time I can find :/ _**

**_anyway, Thanks to all those who stuck by my story from the beginning, I really hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it :D _**

**_and I hope you'll enjoy the sequel (If there is one...)_**

**_:) CMemlovr._**


	16. Final Collision IIa

**Morgan's POV:**

He's in there and you know it. You can feel it, and all you want to do right now is to burst in and save him, save Reid, before something unspeakable happens. Hotch isn't back yet, and you're so tempted to go on without him, but at this stage it's crucial that you make no mistakes – even if that means waiting. Garcia's called you again, asking about the success of your entry into the warehouse, and you couldn't lie to her – you told her that Emily was shot and that she's presently in surgery at the hospital. Right now, Garcia's on her way to the hospital with JJ in tow- nobody messes with her babies. You're standing so still you swear you've become stone, this waiting around is doing nothing for your nerves, and you can feel them gnawing at you from the inside. Damn it! Where the heck is Hotch? Rossi's right beside you, fidgeting with the safety of his gun- clicking it on, and off, and on, and off repeatedly. The action itself is getting on your already chewed nerves, and all you want to do is disarm him and tell him to stop acting like a baby, but you know how nerve wrecking this whole experience is.

For everyone's sake you hope that Reid's alright, in fact- you don't like where your thoughts have taken you, and you're really glad when you finally see Hotch's SUV pull up beside yours. Any moment now, you'll have Reid in your clutches, safe and sound at last. Hotch practically jumps out of his car in hiss rush to head up with you and Rossi, a question bubbles to your lips, but you figure that it can wait until you've talked tactics.

"Hotch, what happened? Is Emily alright?" you ask before you can help yourself.

"She's fine; JJ and Garcia are waiting for her to get out of surgery now. Is Reid in there?"

"Yeah, it looks like it. We could do a soft entry upstairs so as not to spook her, then bang in when we find her so that she'll think she's cornered."

"That sounds good Morgan. Rossi, I want you to take left wing, I'll take centre and we'll each take a small party of SWAT members with us."

Rossi speaks up from behind you, "If we find Reid, we should have some sort of signal – especially if the Archer is still in the room."

"Good point Rossi, ok – if we find Reid and the Archer is present, wait for the rest of the team, and we'll all go wherever they are, so that no solitary person has a chance of encountering the Archer." Finishes Hotch.

You all split to gear up before entering the property, your minds all focused on rescuing Reid. On the count of three you all enter your individual entrances with the assigned SWAT team members. Yours is the back of the warehouse, and as abandoned as it is, you can tell that the general air of the warehouse is one of disrepair. Beside you at the moment is a large pile of rubbish, the door practically swinging off its hinges. You enter as quietly as you can without disturbing the piles of crap littering the floor. So far, there's no sign of Reid or the Unsub. You say so into your comm, "clear."

**Hotch's POV:**

So Morgan's wing is clear, that means that either yours or Rossi's has Reid and the Archer. You look around you, and observe the dismantled television screen, and the thermostat, turned down so low it could be a walk in freezer...yet, the room you're in is fairly warm for this time of year, and no other rooms seem to be as cold as the thermostat is showing. Perhaps, as everything else, the thermostat is broken. You think about it no further as you continue your search around what could be described as more of a burrow than a warehouse.

The crackling on your intercom interrupts your observances as Rossi informs you that there's no sign of reid on his side either, that means that the only possible places Reid could be is your side, or another warehouse. And for Reid's sake, you hope it's the former. Could it be that the thermostat has something to do with all of this? You look at the floor for the first time, searching for a trap door, or a disturbance in the seemingly flawless wooden floor. Aha!

**The Archer's POV:**

You can hear their clumsy footsteps thundering above you, and you know that every step is giving Reid that much more confidence and hope. Damn it, you're sure you covered up the trap door, and you can't check now. How did they find you so quickly? You must have underestimated their abilities, the same thing you did last time, the same thing that led to your downfall. Turning on your heel, you reach for the hilt of your knife, unsheathe it, and allow Spencer to watch its gleam, he knows what's coming and you're steadily anticipating his reaction. The final kill, this is what you've been waiting for, and, in your mind, this is what's going to make you the happiest. You must execute it quickly, before the meandering men above you find the trap door and descend on you like flies; god knows how many SWAT members they've brought with them. No, this has to end now.

Spencer's looking at you, eyes wide with fear and pleading, if he thinks that he can appeal to Lila he's wrong. She died for good the minute he pointed it out. This kill will symbolize the real death of Lila Archer, and the death of the man who murdered her before she died. He murdered her emotions, and for that he would pay with his life. You raise the knife above your head, and gently slide it across your gloved palm to allow Spencer a full view of the knife. Then, pushing him down into a lying position on the floor, you reach across and angle the knife downwards, a stab that would penetrate his heart and leave him bleeding. But first, cosmetics. You want a pool of blood to circle his body before he dies, so some cutting is in order. You lift up the jacket you allowed him, slide the blade beneath it, and gently, with the tip of the knife, slice into his cold hardened flesh. Then, removing the jacket, you toss it aside and admire the cosmetics as a puddle of blood begins to harden around his body. You stare silently at him for a little while, admiring the beauty that you've created, when you're interrupted by a loud bang, a squeal emitted from Spencer, and three large men pointing guns at you. But, they think that they're too late, and maybe, they are.

**Rossi's POV:**

The Archer is straddling Reid's chest, a long and cruel blade clutched in her mittens. You and Hotch circle her while Morgan remains firmly planted behind her.

"Put down the weapon now. Ms Lowe, you could walk out of here safely if you put the knife down now, and inflict no further harm on Dr. Reid! Now, put the knife down and back away carefully from Spencer."

She turns and faces you briefly, in her eyes, you can see that there's no way in hell she's going to allow you to save Reid. He's her final target, and she'll feel no satisfaction if she doesn't kill him. Staring into her cold blue eyes, you shoot a glare and try again.

"Ms. Lowe, put down your weapon so we can talk, right now all we want to do is to help you, to stop you from making another mistake. Killing Lila,that was a mistake wasn't it? But it's ok, we're here to help you, so that you don't make that mistake again, okay?"

"Shut up old man. I have a job to finish. Now stop talking. I want to savour this moment." She raised the knife above her head, aiming directly for Spencer's heart. At that moment, a gunshot rings out, and you watch as Maggie clutches her hand in pain, Morgan having got a straight shot into her wrist. The knife falls onto Reid's chest with a small slap onto his flesh, and in that moment, Hotch grabs her uninjured wrist and handcuffs it. You and Morgan rush over to Reid, and assess the damage done. He looks bad, and you're inwardly thanking God that you had the good sense to call for EMTs before entering the house. Hotch has already lead Maggie out to one of the waiting ambulances, and has told a pair of the EMTs to come into the warehouse and bring Spencer out on a stretcher. You don't know how he is medically, but you do know that he's safe and with you now.

**JJ's POV:**

Waiting for Emily's surgery results would've been nerve wracking enough under the circumstances, but waiting for news on Spencer and on Emily is chewing you inside and out. Garcia looks as though she could be sick at any moment, and you don't blame her, this situation is enough to make anyone miserable. From the visitor's area you can hear a new gurney being brought in, and watch with growing and bubbling anger as a handcuffed woman is taken into surgery, where the hell is Spencer?

You're marching outside when you see Hotch rubbing his eyes gently with the tips of his fingers, he looks weary and gray, you can't help but stall your anger for a moment. You look at him and ask quietly, "Where's Spence, Hotch?"

"He's on his way in the next ambulance. There were a few complications getting him strapped to a gurney, but he should be alright as soon as he gets out of his extensive surgeries."

"How bad was it Hotch? Please, tell me everything."

"It was bad JJ, I don't think you want to know the exact details-"

"I do."

"Alright then. When we found Reid the Archer was about to stab him through the heart, he already had several flesh wounds and infections, on top of that, his skin had frozen to the floor beneath him. This meant that while trying to take him off, the skin that got stuck to the floor had to be gently pried off, or thawed off. We decided that for the good of his general health we would pry him off the floor. The result was extreme pain for Spencer, but ultimately less time to get him here."

By the end of his speech you feel as though you want to vomit. The pure acts of torture Spencer must have been put through flip your stomach several times over, as well as set your blood on fire. Now all you want to do is confront the bitch that was handcuffed to the gurney, but you can't because she's in surgery. A small cough emanates from behind you, and you turn around to find Emily's doctor looking at you brightly, "Ms. Jareau, your friend Emily should make a full recovery. The bullet was extracted beautifully, and there should be minimal scarring. She should wake up in a few minutes, and we'd be happy to let you see her."

"Thank you Doctor."

You watch his retreating figure, glad at least that one of your injured friends is alright. All that's left is news of Spencer.

**Reid's POV:**

Everything hurts, and it's so bright. Why is it so bright? It's a good bright, but a painful bright, your eyes haven't seen this much light since... the sunlight before you were taken by Maggie. Maggie, whatever happened to her? You know for sure that you're still alive, but, where's Maggie? 'Hmmm...Maybe there'll be time for this later' you think, as you sink into a comfortable and deep sleep.

It feels like hours ago that you woke up in a drug induced phase, but now you're fully awake and ready to welcome your friends. But the pain, it's everywhere, and you can't help but squeak when you turn over, but you're rewarded with the smiling face of JJ when you do. You can't help but smile back when you see her leaning over you, this is what you'd been pushing yourself for, a chance to see your family again.

_**A/N: Okay guys...it's the end! Please R&R, and fairly soon I'll be posting up the alternate ending, so tell which one you prefer. The alternate ending will be completely different, so it may take me a while to finish it. Other than that, I hope you've enjoyed reading the story :D **_


	17. Final Collision IIb

**Hotch's POV:**

You're standing at yet another graveside, feeling so hopeless and lost now that you're short one more member of your team. Beside you stand the living members, two of whom are injured, and scarred mentally. Nobody will forget this day, because nobody can. You've lost another co-worker, but above all you've all lost another friend. Already you have Strauss on your back to replace them, but you can't bring yourself to do it, at least not when they've only been buried a few days, and dead in the hearts of your team a much shorter time. How will you explain this to Jack? How do you tell him that he'll never see his Uncle Spencer again, after having just lost his auntie Emily a few days ago?

**A WEEK PREVIOUSLY:**

**Rossi's POV:**

The waiting around to go in and save Reid is agonizing, you can't help but think that if you were in this alone like you used to be, then there would be no waiting around, you'd have just gone in and saved him. You can't afford to do that now though, anything that could jeopardize Reid's safety can't and won't be done, and even though you understand this, it doesn't help your anxiety and rage. Hotch is late, and there's every chance that you'll be late too, beside you is Morgan, and you can tell he's thinking the same thoughts as you are. What if you don't get Reid out alive? The team will disintegrate, the people who love him will be lost souls, hell, you'll be a lost soul. And you've been there before. Damn it, where's Hotch? You know that Emily got shot, and you can't help but wonder at the other agent's feelings towards her. It seems as though they've finally warmed up to each other, and warmed up well by the looks of things. Hotch insisted that he ride along with Emily in the ambulance, not only that, but he called to say that he might be late because he wants to see Emily into surgery. You all care about her, but isn't that a bit extreme for just a boss – co worker relationship?

You can't stand waiting anymore, and you're about to say screw it and walk in, when Morgan reads your mind. He yells out suddenly "Screw this man, I'm going in to get Reid, and you tell Hotch to cover me when he arrives okay?"

"Morgan you can't go in by yourself, if she gets you then both you and Reid are dead. Think this through!"

"I can't stand it Rossi, he's in there and I gotta save him." Suddenly, he breaks into a breakneck speed run, and you can't follow. You watch helplessly as he rounds a corner into the warehouse. You hope that he'll make it out, and not end up as dead as you think Reid is.

**Morgan's POV:**

This is damn annoying waiting around for Hotch to arrive from his rescue mission. You know that Emily was shot, but come on, Reid's stuck with a serial killer! Tired of all this, you break into a run as soon as you've politely told Rossi to fob off. You will save him.

As soon as you reach a door, you stop and look around for a way in that won't alert the killer inside. After all, you don't want to give her anymore of a heads-up of your presence than she might already have. Looking around, all you can see are broken bottles littering the floor, some overgrown grass and...Blood? Oh God, you honestly hope that isn't Reid's blood as you look at it, unmoving and dry on the floor. Snapping yourself out of your miserable thoughts, you gently slide open the door as quietly as possible and rush in, careful to make to noise as your feet tread the disgusting ground. Reid could be anywhere in here, the place is huge- the phantom of an old workhouse from the Victorian period, but more modern. The ground is soft and wooden – strike that, rotten wood. You look desperately at the floor for signs of disturbance or movement in the dust, anything that would indicate Reid and The Archer had been here. Nothing strikes you immediately, until you see scuff marks around a particular area of the ground. You rush over, and brush away the dust that's already managed to settle. Hoping that you're not too late, you tug on the door gently, and peer inside. Bingo!

**Reid's POV:**

This isn't happening. It's not real. You can hear a set of boots scuffling around upstairs, but Maggie's right beside you... so who's upstairs? Could it be that they found you? You certainly hope so. So far it looks as though they haven't found the trap door that leads to you. Maggie's in front of you, visibly freaking out, but looking like she's trying not to. Typical Maggie really. She's already unsheathed her knife, and she doesn't want you to die painlessly, she's already made that much clear- several times in fact. So, how's she going to end it? She looks towards the ceiling apprehensively, she doesn't want whoever it is finding you alive, but how does she end it painfully but not slowly. You can see the cogs turning in her head, the only solution really, is to kill you with a team member watching – that would really torture you psychologically. Just as the thought strikes you, it strikes her – and you watch as Morgan descends the stairs, his gun outstretched in front of him, sweeping beams to and fro. Maggie prepares herself and leaps onto his shoulders.

"Shit!" he cries, as Maggie lands squarely onto his unsuspecting shoulders. You hear a scuffle, and suddenly the lights are on, and Morgan's own gun is pointed at him, as well as Maggie's blade.

"We meet again Agent Morgan. Please sit still, or you will die. Either way, Dr. Reid here is going to die, so you may as well give up."

"I will not give up as long as I have someone to save. Now, put the weapons down, and back away slowly, if you think this through, you could get away unharmed and with less of a sentence – maybe you'll be spared the death penalty. Whaddaya say?"

"Be quiet Agent Morgan, or I won't let you get away safe. Now watch, as I take Dr. Reid's life, with your gun." A wicked smile graces her lips, and you notice a glint in her eye that wasn't there previously. Oh boy.

**The Archer's POV:**

Ah, the final kill at last. Nothing will stand in your way, and thanks to the generous Agent Morgan over there, you have the answer to your riddle. A gun. You can shoot Spencer so many times before he actually loses enough blood that he dies. It's the perfect solution. In fact, you're surprised that it's escaped you until now. Raising the gun carefully you take aim, and shoot squarely into one of Dr. Reid's many seeping wounds. Blood splatters everywhere, and Spencer's cries fill the air, along with Agent Morgan's cursing and swearing. Just wait until he sees what you have in store. A slow smile spreads across your face, why, you haven't felt this good in quite a while. Perhaps the Archer is finally blooming. You take aim again, and shoot at his shoulder blade, not a shot to kill, but certainly a painful shot, as the bullet lodges itself in his shoulder blade, allowing no movement at all – at least, not if he wants painless. Your next shot is with your blade, as you lean crouch over him and begin tracing the bullet wounds with your knife in long, deep strikes. Each time your blade penetrates his flesh, a new cry or groan slices through the air with it. The satisfaction is overwhelming. Finally, the blow that will end his life, what is it that policemen call it? GSW to the head? A smile graces your features, and you raise the gun, take aim and...Shoot.

It's all over now. Reid is dead, Agent Morgan is slumped over in grief, and you don't care enough to kill him. Instead, you focus on ending yourself, now that your mission is complete, you can be too. You move to turn the gun on yourself, but Morgan wrenches it from your grip and cuffs you down on the floor in one fell swoop. Well, you suppose it might be easier to commit suicide in jail anyway, all you have to do is tell the other inmates what you're not in for...

**Hotch's POV:**

Rossi's just explained everything that's happened, and you're both rushing inside to try and find both missing agents. Whatever happens now, it can't be good. Your eyes fall upon the open trap door, and from below the sounds of a struggle can be heard. Rossi takes the lead and you follow as quickly as possible. You arrive on the bottom level, your guns held out in front of you like shields, and before your eyes is an arrested Maggie Lowe, and Morgan, tears seeping out of his eyes, his breath ragged and harsh as he tries to cough away tears. You look around, and see Reid's mangled body, even without the help of EMTs, you can tell that he's already dead. You just hope that Emily will get better, that at least one of your two injured agents will survive this ordeal.

You walk outside, and ask that the EMTs return and send the Coroner out instead; all of you know that it's going to be a rough night. Grabbing your phone, you call ahead to the hospital and tell them to send the staff on stand-by away, there is no use for them now. As yet, you're still in shock, and therefore unprepared when the raw emotions hit you; the anger, grief and bitterness that follow the death of a colleague, co-worker and friend.

**Garcia's POV:**

The doctor's just passed by to tell you that Emily's just made it out of surgery, she's not out of the woods yet, but if she makes the night then she should be alright. A sigh of relief emanates from both you and JJ as an enormous strain is removed from your chests. All at once, you're both filled with worry for Reid instead, and it makes you feel guilty for even being relieved at Emily's well being. Almost as soon as this thought occurs to you, a call comes in from Morgan, hoping that it's good news, you answer as brightly as you can, "hey hot stuff, what's the news?"

"He's gone Garcia. We couldn't save him."

"Derek Morgan, please tell me you're joking, for the love of all that is good, if I find out that this is some sort of joke I'll-"

"It's not a joke Penelope. He's on his way to the morgue now, they're going to clean him up and prepare him for the funeral. How's Emily doing?"

"She's just out of surgery...are you sure Derek?"

"I'm sure. I saw him get killed with my own eyes. We have her in custody and she's on her way to holding right now."

"The bitch. Why does she get to live, Derek?"

"Who knows baby girl. I gotta go help Hotch get the bod...get Reid."

"Bye, Morgan."

As soon as you end the conversation you feel the hot wetness of tears dripping down your face. JJ's looking at you expectantly, and you can't trust your own voice to tell her what's happened, so you just shake your head. She understands almost immediately, and the same tears fall down her face, a mirror of yours. Both of you sit still for a while, clasping each other's hands, feeding off each other's warmth, while shaking with barely controlled sobs. You just can't take this anymore.

**PRESENT**

**Hotch's POV:**

Reflecting back on the entire case, the blur that took place of life after Reid's passing, you wish you'd spent more time getting to know the people you worked with. Emily, her passing was a real shock, one minute she was fine, the next she was being rushed back into surgery, the bullet having perforated her bones, causing a piece of shattered bone to find its way to her heart, and pierce it through. The doctors words as he informed you all of her fate. Then, her burial, before Reid's – he hadn't been released from the coroner's yet. Now, your team is down two members, and two friends. Your team is down two family members.

You honestly didn't want to bury someone else, and yet you're always the one that ends up by the graveside, when will it be you inside the grave? you wonder.

_**Okay, it's officially the end of the end. I know, super depressing ending, but I did say it would be totally different from the first. So, please leave in the reviews or PM me about which ending you preferred. I'd like to thank all of the readers who stuck by this story until the end, and all of the people who continuously commented. You've been great, and I hope you enjoyed reading each chapter as much as I enjoyed writing them. Thanks again,**_

_** CMemlovr**_


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